COLUMBUS, Ind. — The mother of a high school student killed in a hit-and-run involving a school bus stop in August has written a letter to a judge seeking to have all continuances or delays denied in the case to prevent the defendant from being deported back to his home country of India.
Shiam Sunder Shankara Subramanian, 25, whose address was initially listed as 3224 Country Brook St., was arrested following the Aug. 30 death of 16-year-old Columbus East High School student Lily J. Streeval.
Subramanian is accused of attempting to drive around a stopped Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. bus with warning lights flashing and arm signal extended, court records state. Investigators say his car struck Streeval as she was crossing rural Gladstone Avenue to board her school bus, which was witnessed also by students already on the bus and a driver stopped behind the bus.
Streeval was later pronounced dead at Columbus Regional Hospital. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the cervical spine and chest, according to Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting, who also ruled the death as a homicide.
Streeval’s mother Teresa Burbrink, sent a letter to Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin asking the court to deny any continuances, postponements or other delays that the defense might request so that the case may be heard in Bartholomew County.
“At the last hearing on Nov. 25, the defense stated that Mr. Shankara Subramanian was terminated from his employment in September and if he were unable to secure employment before 60 days from the date of termination, he would lose his work visa,” the letter states. “The defense also states that his immigration status would change to a visitor’s status when his work visa is terminated. It was emplained to me by the deputy prosecutors assigned to the case that at the end of Mr. Shankara Syubramanian’s six-month visitor’s status, he would be deported back to his home country of India and that he would likely would not be returning to stand trial for this case,” Burbrink wrote.
A copy of the letter was forwarded to prosecutors and defense attorneys.
For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
