Shiam Sunder Shankara Subramanian
Less than six weeks after being denied permission to move to Pennsylvania for a new job, a defendant charged with the hit-and-run death of a Columbus teen now is seeking permission to go to an out-of-state job interview.
Shiam Sunder Shankara Subramanian, 25, was arrested following the Aug. 30 death of 16-year-old Columbus East High School student Lily J. Streeval.
He’s accused of attempting to drive around a stopped Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. bus with warning lights flashing and arm signal extended, accused of striking the victim as she was crossing rural Gladstone Avenue to board the bus.
On Monday, defense attorney Brittney Newland asked Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin to allow her client to fly to Iowa for a Jan. 12 job interview for a quality control engineering position, adding he would return the next day.
Collis LLP, a manufacturer located 40 miles northeast of Davenport, Iowa has agreed to pay for the round-trip flight, Newland said. Prior to Streeval’s death, Subramanian worked as a quality control engineer at Faurecia in Columbus.
But when asked whether the Clinton, Iowa corporation was aware of the criminal case Subramanian is facing, both Newland and the defendant said company personnel had not been informed.
Subramanian is 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 convicted on both counts, the defendant could be sentenced to up to 18 years in prison, as well as ordered to pay fines of up to $20,000.
While Benjamin says she will take the defendant’s request under advisement, she outlined three conditions Subramanian must meet just for his request to be considered:Subramanian has to provide proof that he had notified Collis LLP about his felony charges almost immediately.
The defendant had to provide proof that Collis was still willing to pay for his round-trip airfare after learning about the charges.
The court was requiring a list of Indiana companies with whom Subramanian had sought employment.
This is not the first time Subramanian has sought permission to leave the state to obtain employment. On Nov. 24, Special Judge Joe Meek denied a request that would have allowed the defendant to accept a job near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
On Dec. 7, the judge received a letter from Lily Streeval’s mother, Teresa Burbrink, ask that all requests for continuances, postponements and delays be denied.
Her concern came after co-defense attorney James H. Voyles, Jr. said that Subramanian, a citizen of India, only had 60 days after he was fired Sept. 27 from Faurecia to find another job. That 60 day window ended in late October, which means the defendant could face deportation by late April, according to Voyles’ claim.
Burbrink wrote the judge that deputy prosecutors told her Subramanian could be deported, “and that he would not be returning to stand trial for this case,” the victim’s mother wrote.
However, the topic of deportation was not brought up during Monday’s hearing. Instead, both defense and prosecution stated they were awaiting documents or depositions that won’t become available until Jan. 27.
In response, Benjamin rescheduled the pre-trial conference or change of plea hearing for March 21 at 10:30 a.m. The tentative trial date is now April 19 at 8:30 a.m.
Subramanian was released from the Bartholomew County Jail in early September after posting a $500,000 cash bond. However, the resident of India was ordered to surrender his passport prior to his release.
