Cherukuri Santosh Kumar (27), a native of Akkayyapalem area in Visakhapatnam, died on the spot after a head-on collision with a truck and trailer unit on the State Highway number 2 at Pahoia, New Zealand, on Thursday evening.
The accident took place at about 7.30 p.m. when Mr. Santosh and five others were returning to Auckland in a car after a business trip to a place called Tauranga.
While Santosh died on the spot, the driver of the truck and the other five members of the car escaped with minor to moderate injuries.
The incident came to light on Monday, after the parents of the deceased and friends approached the Commissioner of Police Amit Garg and the District Collector N. Yuvaraj to speed up the process of bringing back the mortals remains of Santosh. The victim was a resident of Nandagiri Nagar in Akkayyapalem area and was the eldest son of Cherukuri Nookaraju, a retired government employee, and Nagalakshmi.
In 2012, he had gone to New Zealand to study MBA. And on completion of the course, he was working for Auckland-based Super Foods Limited, as accounts manager.
According to one of his relatives, on the fateful day, he volunteered to go Tauranga on the business trip on behalf of his boss George Mavumkal. After the work, he was returning and for a few seconds crossed centreline into the path of an approaching logistics truck and trailer unit. Talking to The Hindu , his brother Rajendra said that Santosh’s visa was to expire in August this year and he was planning to come back and settle down in India.
“My parents were also looking for marriage alliance for him,” said Rajendra.
