HYDERABAD: A student from Hyderabad, Shree Likitha Pinnam, who is pursuing higher studies at Wichita State University (WSU) in Kansas, United States, suffered a head injury in a road accident. She is battling for her life.
Sampath Bhargav Pinnam said his sister Likitha is on a ventilator and her condition is critical. Likitha's car skidded in extreme weather when she was on her way to Arkansas with her friends on January 30 and toppled over twice. She suffered a serious head injury and went into a coma. Her friends escaped with minor injuries.
Likitha suffered a very severe traumatic brain injury. "Doctors are not able to predict when she will be able to recover. They estimate it can take months or even years to recover," Sampath said, adding her treatment is very expensive.
Following an appeal that Sampath created on GoFundMe page to collect $1,50,000 towards treatment costs, more than 3,000 people responded and $1,00,000 has been raised so far. The Indian Students Association, WSU, also urged for contributions. "Likitha is in a coma. Her family is looking for financial support," it said.
"The accident took place on a highway close to Bentonville, Arkansas. Due to sleet on the road, the car went out of control and flipped twice resulting in a serious injury to Likitha," Sampath said. A driver took her to Mercy Hospital in northwest Arkansas. Likitha, who studied engineering in Hyderabad, graduated in computer science from WSU.
Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyde...
Read MoreSushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.
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