Off duty cop crashes, killing 4 Indian students in US

Four Indian students killed in a road accident in the US were hit by a car driven by an off-duty woman police officer going the wrong way, according to media reports citing investigators.

The four students were killed early Saturday morning in Des Peres St Louis when a car they were travelling in was broadsided by Christine L Miller (41), a Sunset Hills patrol officer. The officer was speeding and possibly drunk, investigators said.

Nitesh Adusumilli (27), who was driving the victims' car and Miller were both listed in critical condition yesterday.

Miller was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of Dougherty Ferry Road when her Mitsubishi Eclipse struck the passenger side of Adusumilli's Honda, which was turning right onto the road, police said.

Adusumilli's fiancee, Anita Lakshmi (23), was dead at the scene along with Anusha Anumolu (23), and Priya Muppvarapu (22) -- Lakshmi's roommates -- and Satya Chinta (25), Lakshmi's cousin.

Sgt Al Nothum of the Missouri Highway Patrol said Miller's car was "obviously travelling at a high rate of speed", based on the damage to the two vehicles. He said police had reason to suspect alcohol involvement, but had not made that determination.

Adusumilli's Internet profile said he worked at AMDOCS, a software and communications firm in Chesterfield. His mother, Adusumilli wrote, is a yoga instructor in India; his dad, a real estate agent.

The three female victims were all working toward master's degrees in information technology at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. They were meeting Adusumilli on the spring break.

The victims' families are all in India.