Three people were killed -- including two SIU-Carbondale students -- in a two-vehicle crash Thursday morning in Union County.
Illinois State Police say 23-year-old Vamshi Krishna Pechetty and 23-year-old Pavan Swarna, both graduate students in computer science, were killed in the crash on Route 3 just north of Old Cape Road around 4:15 a.m.
The driver of the other vehicle...32-year-old Marie Meunier of Cape Girardeau...was also killed.
Three other SIU graduate students who were passengers in the vehicle driven by Swarna were injured.
23-year-old Karthik Kakumanu received life-threatening injuries; 24-year-old Kalyan Dorna and 23-year-old Yaswanth Uppalapati both sustained non-life threatening injuries.
Illinois State Police say Meunier crossed the centerline and hit Swarna's vehicle head-on.
SIU-C Chancellor Austin Lane says the Counseling and Psychological Services team is available to help those impacted by this tragedy.
