StarTribune.com content is available via e-mail, mobile devices and as RSS feeds.
Home | Local + Metro | East Metro
St. Croix River crash survivor now critical
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on newsvine
Share on DiggMore from East Metro
The medical condition of Deepa Vellusamy, 25, one of two survivors of a fatal SUV accident in the St. Croix River, has slipped from serious to critical, a Regions Hospital spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Another survivor, Kalaiselvi Vijayakumar, 25, is still listed in critical condition.
Both women have been at the St. Paul hospital since April 13, the night of the car accident that left two of their friends dead. Mohanraj Pothiraj, 28, and Rohini Krishnamurthy, 27, died last week at Regions. Cause of death in both cases was from complications from hypothermia and near drowning, said Don Gorrie of the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office.
All four are residents of India who had been living and working in the Twin Cities at Ameriprise Financial in Minneapolis. They were contractors from Infosys Technologies, based in Bangalore.
Vellusamy's condition had at one point been described as "serious, but hopeful," in an e-mail distributed among members of the local Indian community.
The four colleagues went sightseeing in Stillwater and somehow ended up on a dirt road along the St. Croix River, about a quarter-mile north of the city's famous lift bridge.
About 10 p.m. their rented SUV plunged into the river, submerging it in the dark, icy waters. A couple of 911 calls were made from within the car, and the callers said they could not open the windows and did not know how to swim. Rescuers arrived some 10 minutes later and pulled the four people from the car.
ALLIE SHAH
- MPR: Business groups spend most to lobby
- Bridge progress - and bridge politics
- 3 new appeals judges have varied backgrounds
- How and where our representatives in D.C. live
- Pawlenty's archives: A blank slate
- DNR is dealt a setback to its mission of conservation
- Obama in Fargo: Veterans need better treatment
- Coleman, Franken trade barbs over gas-price politics
- Bloomberg brings taste of Big Apple to Independence Party fundraiser
- Abeler, who bucked Pawlenty, seeks reelection
  Specialty PublicationsAccess speciality publications including Homes and Rentals Magazines, the How-To Guide, Great Vacations, and more here. Open positions!A new career awaits. Look through thousands of listings to find your new job. Start now! |
Win a season pass to Music at the Zoo!Win a season pass to Music at the Zoo! Enter by midnight on Thursday, July 10, 2008. |