Six family members killed in Texas after teen driver veered into oncoming traffic

Six people are dead and three are in critical condition after a seventeen-year-old drove into oncoming traffic

Six people are dead after a teen driver steered into oncoming traffic. (AFP via Getty Images)

Six people are dead after a Texas teenager drove the wrong way on a highway and struck a van head-on.

A 17-year-old was driving a white pickup truck with a passenger when his vehicle drifted into oncoming traffic, striking a van carrying seven people in Johnson County, Texas on 26 December, according to a statement from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

Rushil Barri of Irving, Texas was driving with his cousin, his cousin’s wife, two children and his in-laws when the teen struck their car, authorities told local outlet NBC Dallas Fort Worth. The family was returning from a visit to a local wildlife center.

The two teenagers in the pickup truck survived, as well as just one passenger in the van. All three survivors are in critical condition at a nearby hospital, according to NBC Dallas Fort Worth.

Mr Barri died along with five other passengers in the van, including two children, nine and 10 years old.

“He had very big dreams,” Ayyappala Bandaru, a friend of Mr Barri, told NBC about the 28-year-old. “He always used to think about tomorrow. He used to be like, ‘Man, we need to rule this world.’ We came here with a lot of struggles.”

Barri came to Texas from India in 2020. The Teluga Association of North America will assist with returning the bodies of Mr Barri and his relatives to India, NBC Dallas Fort Worth reports.