Shiam Sunder Shankara Subramanian
COLUMBUS, Ind. — A judge has ruled a defendant in the hit-and-run death of a 16-year-old Columbus East High School student who was attempting to board a school bus will not be allowed to move to Pennsylvania for a new job while awaiting trial on felony charges in Bartholomew Circuit Court.
Special Judge Joe Meek ruled Tuesday afternoon that Shiam Sunder Shankara Subramanian, 25, of 3224 Country Brook St., should remain in Bartholomew Circuit Court’s jurisdiction while awaiting trial.
Subramanian was arrested following the Aug. 30 death of 16-year-old Columbus East High School student Lily J. Streeval. The defendant is accused of attempting to drive around a stopped bus with warning lights flashing and arm signal extended. Investigators say his car struck Streeval as she was crossing a rural road to board the bus.
On Nov. 12, two defense attorneys filed a notice in Judge Kelly Benjamin’s court that their client had been terminated from his job as a quality control engineer at Faurecia. Subramanian was seeking permission to move to West Chester, Pennsylvania – a community of 20,000 residents just outside Philadelphia- to start a new job on Nov. 29.
Deputy Prosecutor Kimberly Sexton is objecting to the request being considered in Bartholomew Circuit Court.
Subramanian is formally charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or catastrophic injury, a Level 4 felony, and passing a school bus when arm signal is extended causing death, a Level 5 felony.
If found guilty on both felony counts, Subramanian could be sentenced to between seven and 26 years in prison, as well as face fines up to $20,000.
In their filing titled “Notice to the Court of Change in Circumstances and Request to Relocate for Employment Purposes”, defense attorneys James H. Voyles, Jr. and Brittney Newland stated there is no reason to believe, from the record, that Subramanian will not appear when so ordered by the court. West Chester is situated about 631 miles from Columbus
A defense motion requesting a change of venue was denied by Judge Kelly Benjamin on Oct. 29. Voyles argued a week earlier that pre-trial publicity – mostly in the form of social media comments – made it impossible for Subramanian to get a fair trial in Bartholomew County.
For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
