The young Dhareshwar family’s plans were ordinary and earnest: settle in Sydney, raise their children and build a home. Instead, on the evening of Friday 14 November, 33-year-old Samanvitha Dhareshwar – eight months pregnant and walking with her husband and their three-year-old son near the Hornsby train-station carpark on George Street, was struck and fatally injured in a chain-reaction crash that also took the life of her unborn baby. Her husband and son watched emergency crews treat Ms Dhareshwar before she was rushed to Westmead Hospital, where she and her unborn child later died.
Friends, colleagues and media reports paint a picture of a family in the midst of putting down roots. Ms Dhareshwar, originally from Karnataka in India, worked in Sydney as an IT professional, just like her husband, Vineet, a career that had brought her to Australia and helped provide for her young family. Only months earlier, she and her husband took a step many young couples save for, according to the Daily Mail, they bought a block of land in Grantham Farm and submitted a development application for a two-storey home, a sign they were planning a long-term family life in Sydney.
Tributes and handwritten notes left at the crash site conveyed shock and sorrow from the local community and witnesses: “I pray for you and your little one” and “it was a privilege to be with you in those final moments” wrote a witness penned down as Laura as she reflected on how immediate and visceral the scene was that night.
Police say the collision occurred at about 8PM on George Street, at the entrance to the Hornsby station carpark. A Kia Carnival had slowed to allow pedestrians, Samanvitha Dhareshwar, her husband and their little boy to cross. A BMW sedan, driven by 19-year-old Aaron Papazoglu, then struck the rear of the Kia; that impact pushed the Kia forward and the family member standing in its path was struck. The two drivers involved were taken for mandatory testing and were not physically injured. Police established a crash investigation and said CCTV footage may be examined.
We spoke to Samanvitha’s neighbour, who lived in the same building and described her as a “very outgoing, calm and polite person.” The neighbour said, “the family was very happy, they had just bought their land and construction started in September.” They recalled meeting Samanvitha only two hours before the incident, in the elevator, where she mentioned that her three-year-old was “adamant to see his dad” and that she was on her way to pick her husband up from the office.
Samanvitha Dhareshwar had about 20 days left until her due date, and her parents were scheduled to fly to Australia for the delivery. Her mother-in-law had been living with them for almost a year and was set to return to India this month. Since the crash, the Dhareshwar family has not been seen at the apartment complex and has moved to stay with relatives in north-west Sydney.
So far, there seems to be no plans made for a funeral as investigations are still underway. The 19-year old driver, Aaron Papazoglu has been denied bail with another court hearing on Friday 21 November.
READ MORE: Teen driver refused bail after striking a young mother in Hornsby
