(TIMONIUM, MD) 05/15/2014 – Maryland State Police have identified the three people killed in a single vehicle crash discovered Tuesday afternoon in a wooded area along the ramp from southbound I-83 to the outer loop of I-695.
The victims are identified as Vignesh Ashokan, 23, Sharath Sudershanam, 24, and Moka Mallikarjun, 25. The three were friends and roommates who lived in Fairfax, Virginia. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
Shortly before 4:00 p.m. on May 13, 2014, Maryland State Police at the Golden Ring Barrack were called by a driver who reported seeing something that appeared to be evidence of a vehicle crash in the wooded gore area along the ramp from southbound I-83 to the outer loop of I-695.
POLICE SEARCHED WOODS TO FIND WRECK
Responding troopers walked back into the wooded area and found multiple pieces of a passenger car and the bodies of the three men.
Investigators from the State Police Crash Team and the Criminal Enforcement Division responded to the scene. A cadaver dog team also responded to assist with a search to ensure all victims had been located.
The preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle, a 2012 Volvo S60 owned and driven by Mallikarjun, was southbound on I-83. The vehicle traveled onto the ramp to the outer loop of I-695 and, for unknown reasons, traveled off the left side of the roadway and entered the wooded area.
WRECKAGE AND BODIES IN PIECES
Investigators determined the vehicle traveled about 300 feet off the roadway before striking a tree. The force of the impact caused the car to break into multiple pieces.
State Police investigators determined the three men had been visiting friends at a home in Cockeysville. At about 1:30 a.m. on May 11th, they decided to leave and travel back to the apartment they shared in Fairfax, Va. Investigators believe the crash occurred shortly after they left Cockeysville, early Sunday morning. A friend from Fairfax had filed a missing persons report with police there. Investigators believe the crash site remained undiscovered because it was so far off the roadway and hidden by trees and brush.
HIGH SPEED BELIEVED TO BE AT FAULT
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Due to the significant damage to the vehicle that occurred on impact, State Police investigators believe speed was a factor in the crash.
The bodies of the three men were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore. Autopsies are expected to be conducted today.
Fairfax friends died together in high-speed crash; Volvo disappeared into wooded gore for 48 hours
