Rediff.com November 29, 1999

It Is Karma,, Says Father Of Dead Teen

Shanthi Shanthakumar

Officials were trying to find out how the leak that caused the death of Seetha Vemireddy, 17, and nearly claimed her sister Lalitha, 15, occurred --- and if the landlord L B Reddy had fulfilled his obligations.

The incident has also drawn attention to the risks of immigrant families chasing dreams in Silicon Valley. The father of the family, who migrated to America in spring this year, could not find a sustainable job and was working in an Indian restaurant owned by Reddy. The parents lived in a small apartment in the nearby building complex.

It was probably the position of her bed that saved Lalitha. While Seetha slept directly below the faulty heater and took the brunt of the poisonous gas; Lalitha, positioned away from the heater, managed to ward off death.

On Wednesday, after spending the evening as usual at the restaurant with their father, Seetha and Lalitha went back to their apartment at 9 pm and went to bed by 10 pm. Their roommate Lakshmi slept at a friend's place that night.

The sisters slept in the living room with Seetha on a couch facing the heater and Lalitha on a bed away from it. A few hours later when Lalitha heard Seetha call out, 'Ammu', she tried to go towards her, but her knees buckled. She tried to reach for the phone just a few feet away but couldn't and fell unconscious.

The next day, at noon, Lakshmi let herself into the apartment. She was startled to find the two girls unconscious. She immediately called the restaurant, which is about a block away and summoned Vemireddy, who rushed with L B Reddy to the apartment. The limp bodies of the girls were rushed to a hospital. Seetha, who had had a cardiac arrest, was pronounced dead on arrival. Lalitha was admitted to the ICU and was released a day later.

"It is karma. What else can I say. We have to accept it. We have no enemies," said father Venkateshwara Vemireddy, sighing. His wife, who speaks only Telugu, had not eaten for several days, was finally coaxed into drinking soup on Saturday.

The family of L B Reddy, who owns and manages more than 1,000 apartment units in Berkeley including the apartment complex in which the death occurred, will bear the $ 5,000 funeral expenses.

A handful of friends and acquaintances spent many hours during the Thanksgiving holidays comforting the Vemireddy family and make arrangements for the funeral on Tuesday.

L B Reddy, who also owns Pasand Madras India Cuisine where the bereaved father worked, has been helping the family since they arrived in America.

Vemireddy, 45, arrived in America in April wooed by the promise of a better life. His wife and daughters followed him in August.

Vemireddy found a job in a computer firm, but the assignment did not last long. For the past three months he has been working in the restaurant's kitchen while looking for computer-related jobs.

He says his friend and benefactor Reddy has been taking care of many bills, including those for food and accommodation.

"If at all we are still standing today, it is because of him," says Vemireddy. He provided them a studio to live in and for the last two months, Seetha and Lalitha spent the nights at a one-bedroom apartment with Lakshmi.

The girls did not speak English. "I thought once I settled down, I would put them in school. We could all live together in one apartment too," said Vemireddy. They spent most of the time at the restaurant, with the Telugu staff, helping out during rush hours and weekends. They also helped in the cleaning hallways of the apartment complex they lived in.

"They were very helpful, nice girls -- not at all lazy," said L B Reddy. He described Seetha as "very pretty, tall, about 5 feet, 6 inches and very charming."

Though earlier reports said she wanted to go to school in America, Reddy said, she was not inclined towards academics. She ultimately "just wanted to go back and get married and live happily ever after," according to Reddy.

Meanwhile, the first hint that carbon monoxide, leaked by a faulty heater, was the killer came when the fire department got a call from the ambulance unit taking the girls to the hospital, asking the fire department to do carbon monoxide tests at the apartment. Blood levels of carbon monoxide were very high in both girls. Berkeley Fire Department Chief Migliore was disturbed by the findings.

"There is a set range of how much carbon monoxide one can be exposed to. The EPA says you can be exposed to nine parts per million for eight hours," he said.

"The tests the fire department ran at the apartment showed that in a matter of few minutes there was 130 to 150 parts per million which is very, very high because we did not run the tests for eight hours."

In fact, the level was so high that a measuring device could not pinpoint the exact amount. "It is a very, very tragic incident and very depressing," said Migliore.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, highly poisonous gas. Blood cells prefer it to oxygen and that is what makes carbon monoxide so deadly. Different people react differently to the same level of carbon monoxide, depending on the amount of carbon monoxide they are exposed to, their physique, and their resistance.

The exact problem with the heater has not been determined but officials said that recent work on the roof of the complex could have blocked the vents. Not taking any chances, they have evicted 27 tenants from their apartments till they get the all-clear.

Reddy is as flabbergasted as the officials over the discovery. "The construction work took place more than a year ago, so why should the vents get blocked now?"

The girls have been staying in that apartment for the last two months.

"It is nothing but karma. How else do you explain Lakshmi not sleeping there that night?" asks L B Reddy.