Shiam Sunder Shankara Subramanian
Sentencing for Shiam Sunder Shankara Subramanian, 26, Columbus, who was found guilty by a jury for the hit-and-run death of a 16-year-old Columbus East High School student, has been postponed until 1:30 p.m. Dec. 8.
The sentencing hearing had been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Bartholomew Circuit Court, but a court official said the delay was requested by the prosecutor’s office and granted by Judge Kelly Benjamin.
On Sept. 21, a jury of seven men and five women deliberated for more than seven hours before finding Subramanian guilty in the hit and run death of Lilly J. Streeval on Aug. 30, 2021. Subramanian, a citizen of India who was in the country on a work visa, was found guilty of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or catastrophic injury, a Level 4 felony, as well as passing a school bus while the arm signal is extended causing death, a Level 5 felony.
Subramanian could face up to 18 years in prison, as well as fines of up to $20,000.
Prosecutors said the victim was hit by Subramanian’s 2019 Honda Civic, thrown against the side of a school bus she was attempting to board and found nine feet from the point of impact on South Gladstone Avenue.
While he was allowed to post a $500,000 cash bond prior to the trial, Benjamin ordered that Subramanian be held in the Bartholomew County Jail after his trial until sentencing.
Online records indicate at least five letters in support of Subramanian, who worked for Faurencia Technologies, have been submitted to Benjamin since Oct. 20. However, those letters were not available for public inspection Thursday afternoon, a court reporter said.
While Benjamin is expected to read those letters privately, the judge frequently allows friends and family members of the victim to make impact statements during the sentencing hearing.
A civil lawsuit filed against Subramanian by the victim’s mother, Teresa E. Burbrink, was filed Jan. 4. It was moved into Benjamin’s court after two other judges claimed there might be conflict of interest if they presided over the case.
Citing the suffering and losses caused by her daughter’s death, Burbrink is seeking damages “for the loss of Lily Streeval’s love and companionship, the loss of her services, funeral and burial expenses, expenses of health care and hospitalization, psychiatric and psychological counseling, and uninsured debts related to her daughter.”
The lawsuit was moved to Benjamin’s court last January, but no court hearings on the civil matter have been held since April.
