Visitation for Farmington Hills Men Killed in Crash to be Held in Novi Today

A visitation for the that occurred Sunday on the Lodge Freeway in Southfield will be held today from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. at in Novi.

Three of the victims of the crash were co-workers at Miracle Software Services in Novi and residents of Farmington Hills. They were members of the Detroit Telugu community, an organization formed in 1976 representing people from a region in India where the Telugu dialect is spoken. The organization's website announced the deaths on Sunday and released the visitation details on Tuesday.

According to detroittelugu.org, the three Hills residents have been identified as Venkata Chalam Pasala, 30, survived by his wife and a 2-month-old daughter; Satyendranath Akula, 35, survived by his wife and 2-year-old daughter; and Sumanth Rajana, 32, a newlywed who married just eight months ago. All worked for Miracle Software in Novi.

A fourth victim, 50-year-old Rajendra Prasad Jonnala, was in the area with his wife to visit their daughter following the birth of their granddaughter. A resident of Tadepalli Gudem, he is also survived by a son.

According to The Detroit News, the driver of the car that caused the crash had a blood alcohol level of 0.26 — more than three times the state's legal limit of 0.08.

A representative of Miracle Software said the company is working with the families to establish a benefit fund. The Detroit News reports that the company is making arrangements to send the bodies of the victims back to their families in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Those interested in making donations to family members are asked to mail checks to the DTA Treasurer, 26662 Island Lake Drive, Novi, MI 48374.

Checks should be made payable to the Detroit Telugu Association with "Oct. 23 car accident victims" written in the memo space.