Indian-American doctor, mother of 5, dies in Houston car crash
Darpan News Desk IANS, 13 Dec, 2022 02:52 PM
New York, Dec 13 (IANS) An Indian-American doctor, dancer, and a mother of five children died on the spot after her car was hit by a speeding motorcycle in Houston city of Texas, media reports said.
Mini Vettical, 52, a native of Ramamangalam in Kerala, was on her way home from work when she died in a crash in southeast Houston at around 4 pm on December 7, KHOU 11, a Houston-based TV channel, reported.
She was a faculty member at Baylor University and worked primarily at Harris Health clinics.
"Dr Vettical was devoted to caring for the underprivileged and underserved in Harris County at multiple health centers. The Baylor Family Medicine community is in shock and disbelief. Her beloved personality will be tremendously missed by faculty and staff. She leaves a gap that is hard to fill among her colleagues and patients," a Baylor University statement read.
In addition to medically helping underserved populations throughout Houston, Vettical was actively involved in organisations like Pratham Houston and the Houston Area Women's Center. She was also a class volunteer and involved in the church and dancing theatre.
Vettical is survived by her husband and five children.
Pooja Vettical, the eldest of the five kids, told KHOU 11 that no matter how much Vettical had on her plate, "she always made time for her most important job of all - being a mom".
According to her obituary posted on the Dignity Memorial website, Vettical was born in Kuwait in 1970, and received her medical degree from the University of Texas. She specialised in Internal Medicine.
Her funeral was held on Monday at Houston's St Anne Catholic Church.
The New York Post, quoting neighbours and relatives, identified the couple as Nanda Balo Persaud and Bono Salima 'Sally' Persaud. The body of their son Devon Persaud, 22, was found only the next day.
The CDC's advisory panel on Saturday unanimously recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged 6 months through four years, as well as the Moderna vaccine for children aged 6 months through five years.
Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee told reporters that a 15-year-old was killed while three adults -- two civilians and one police officer -- were wounded but are expected to survive.
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew that a customer who visited the 7-Elven store found no one was working and called police, WTKR said. When police went there they found Patel, 52, and Logan Edward Thomas, 35, dead at the store attached to a petrol station, Drew said.
The outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks for children under 5 — that’s roughly 18 million youngsters. They are the last age group in the U.S. without access to COVID-19 vaccines and many parents have been anxious to protect their little children.
Fauci is Biden’s chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He was a leading member of the White House coronavirus task force under former President Donald Trump.
