Search for better life ends in family tragedy
Matthew Yi
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Nov. 27, 1999
©2000 San Francisco Examiner

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1999/11/27/NEWS7153.dtl



Seetha Vemireddy had only been in U.S. two months

BERKELEY - Lalitha and Seetha Vemireddy had come to the United States from their rural hometown in southern India just two months ago with their parents.

Venketeshwara Vemireddy, 45, a computer software consultant, and his wife, Padma, 40, were seeking a better life for themselves and their daughters.

A hometown friend, who had preceded them here, found temporary shelter for them. L.B. Reddy, who owns and manages more than 1,000 apartment units in Berkeley, located Venketeshwara and his wife in a small studio.

Lalitha, 15, and Seetha, 17, were put up in a larger one-bedroom apartment a couple of blocks away at 2020 Bancroft Way. A third roommate would live with them.

It was in that apartment unit on Wednesday around noon that Lalitha woke up briefly to the sound of her older sister shouting for their mother. Then both apparently fell unconscious after succumbing to deadly carbon monoxide, a family friend said.

The girls' limp bodies were found by their roommate and rushed to a hospital, but doctors could save only Lalitha. Seetha was pronounced dead at the emergency room.

"They were beautiful girls. Charming, sweet and beautiful," Reddy said Friday.

Reddy said he talked with Lalitha both Thursday, after she was released from Alta Bates Medical Center, and Friday.

"They had eaten and (Lalitha) said she fell asleep. Then she heard her sister shout, "Mommy.' When Lalitha woke up, she saw her sister lying there. She said she tried to get up, but got dizzy and fell unconscious," Reddy said.

With no close relatives in the United States, the Vemireddys spent Friday in seclusion with a few friends.

The girls' mother hasn't eaten anything since the tragic accident, said Prasad Lakireddy, 42. She finally drank a cup of coffee Friday afternoon, he said.

Lakireddy and Tadepu Venkayya, 65, were among a handful of people who tried to console the family.

"The father kept saying, "I came here to better my life and I lost my daughter. It's my karma,' " Venkayya said.

Friends said the Vemireddys are deeply religious Hindus.

The family was still getting used to being here.

Venketeshwara Vemireddy had been looking for a job in the Bay Area. In the meantime, he took a part-time job in the kitchen of Pasand Madras Indian Cuisine, a popular eatery in downtown Berkeley.

The girls spent much of their time hanging out at the restaurant where many of the workers are from the same region of India as they were and speak the Telugu language.

The girls' parents had been thinking about sending their daughters, who knew very little English, to adult school to complete their high school education, friends said.

On Friday, the long hallway leading to the door of the girls' apartment seemed unusually quiet.

Some of their neighbors didn't want to talk about the death, saying they were still distraught about the accident.

Someone taped a dried rose on the girls' door, just underneath a yellow placard put up by city officials forbidding anyone to enter.

Similar signs were found on 26 other doors in this 106-unit apartment building in downtown Berkeley.

PG&E crews had spent Wednesday and Thursday checking every heater in the building. They found 27 to be hazardous for a wide range of reasons, including unsafe levels of carbon monoxide. Tenants in those units have been relocated to nearby hotels.

In Lalitha's and Seetha's apartment, the carbon monoxide level was 20 times the legal limit of 100 parts per million, officials said.

The reason the carbon monoxide level was at a deadly level remained a mystery Friday, but PG&E spokesman Jonathan Franks said the problem was apparently compounded by the blockage of a heater vent in the roof.

Police Capt. Bobby Miller said there was no evidence Friday to indicate that a criminal investigation should be conducted.

"City building inspectors . . . will have to do their thing and tell us what their results are first," he said.

With the long holiday weekend, the inspectors won't check out the apartment units until Monday, said co-owner Vijay Reddy.

It was not known how long it would be before the displaced tenants could return.

Family friends said Seetha's funeral will likely be held at The Lighthouse Assembly of God a few blocks away from the girls' apartment.

However, it was unknown when that will happen.

Authorities on Friday were awaiting the results of microscopic and toxicology tests to confirm the cause of death, said Alameda County Deputy Coroner Mike King.


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