Three Indians die in accident in Arizona

An autopsy by the Coconino County Medical Examiner's office has revealed that Cottonwood resident Ross "Scott" Willoughby died of a self-inflicted gunshot at the time he crashed his white 1996 Jeep Cherokee into a gray 2015 Toyota Prius, killing the driver and two passengers.

The accident, which occurred Sunday in Sedona on SR 89a between Brewer Road and Rolling Hills, required closure of the highway's westbound lanes for four hours and the road's eastbound lanes to be partly closed.

The Prius was driven by 33-year-old Moorthy Somashundaram of Phoenix. His wife, 29-year-old Swapna Ponnambalam was in the front passenger seat and his mother-in-law, 66-year-old Bhuvaneswari Ponnanbalam of India was in the backseat of the vehicle.

Somashundaram and his mother-in-law were pronounced dead on the scene. 

Swapna Ponnambalam was air-lifted to Flagstaff Medical Center where she died later. her organs were donated, according to Houston community leader Sam Kannappan.

While investigating the collision, Sedona PD received information from Yavapai County Sheriff's Office of a suicidal subject and were attempting to locate him and his vehicle - a white Jeep Cherokee.

The driver and vehicle were confirmed to be the same subject and vehicle involved in this collision.

The Sedona Police Department is continuing the investigation of this fatal accident.

The driver that crossed the center-lane and hit another car Sunday, killing two people and critically injuring another in Sedona Sunday, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Sedona Police say the accident occurred when a vehicle traveling toward Uptown, driven by 48-year-old Ross Willoughby of Cottonwood, crossed the center lane and hit a vehicle going west.

The vehicle was a 2015 Toyota Prius driven by 33-year-old Moorthy Somashundaram of Phoenix, who was killed in the accident. His mother-in-law, 66-year-old Bhuvaneswari Ponnanbalam was also killed.

His wife, 29-year-old Swapna Ponnambalam, was airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center and is in critical condition.

The Coconino County Medical Examiner’s office did the autopsy of Willoughby and confirmed he died from an apparent suicide. The wreck closed three lanes of Highway 89A for about four hours, just east of Rolling Hills Drive

http://gcmaz.com/at-least-two-dead-in-fatal-sedona-accident/#comment-584

Three people are dead and one is in critical condition after a fatal accident shut down State Route 89A Sunday in Sedona. Sedona Mayor Sandy Moriarty said on her Facebook page that the accident occurred when a vehicle traveling toward Uptown, crossed the center lane and hit a vehicle going west.

She says the driver who crossed the lane was reportedly suicidal and took his own life with a single gunshot wound to the head after the accident. Sedona Police say 48-year-old Ross Willoughby from the Verde Valley was the one who caused the accident that killed two other people in the accident. Those killed and the one person who was injured, were all from the Phoenix area. The wreck closed three lanes of Highway 89A for about four hours, just south of the double rotaries.