UNION CITY, 09/22/2005
Ben Aguirre Jr
The daily Review
A young woman died Wednesday morning of injuries
suffered in a single-car crash that claimed
the lives of two of her best friends the night
before, while a fourth passenger remained in
serious condition.
Fremont resident Amanjot Thiara, 19,
died at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley
about 2 a.m., some six hours after she lost
control of her 2003 Toyota Camry and slammed
into a tree on Union City Boulevard at Kohoutek
Way, near Whipple Road, police said.
It was near the spot where 19-year-old Annisha
Reddy of San Jose and her unborn baby were
killed in a high-speed, solo-vehicle crash on
Aug. 19. Four James Logan High School students
died along the same stretch of road in two crashes
in 2001 and 2002.
Officials on Wednesday released the identities
of the three other crash victims, and police
asked for the public's help in finding the occupants
of a car — described as being a lowered,
dark-colored Honda — that was seen near
the crash. Like Thiara's car, the other vehicle
was seen traveling at a high rate of speed.
However, police do not believe the two cars
were racing.
"It'd be nice to speak to that person
and rule them out (as suspects in any crimes),"
Lt. Jim Bizieff said. He said there was no evidence
that the two cars had made any contact or were
involved in a road-rage incident. Bizieff went
on to say that neither alcohol nor drugs appeared
to be involved.
The other two women who died in Tuesday's crash
have been identified as Union City resident
Saprina Sidhu, 19, and Fremont resident Vibha
Sharma, who would have turned 19 today, said
Dan Apperson, spokesman for the Alameda County
Coroner's Bureau.
A fourth girl, 19-year-old Dhanwant Madar of
Fremont, remained hospitalized on Wednesday
and has not been able to give a statement to
investigators, Bizieff said.
The crash happened about 8 p.m. Tuesday as
the girls were returning from Chabot College
in Hayward, where all of the girls were enrolled
in a 5:30 p.m. biology class, police said.
A witness said they saw Thiara's Camry speeding
southbound on Union City Boulevard as if it
was trying to catch up to the other car, with
which Thiara had some "friendly" interaction
a few seconds earlier, Bizieff said.
Although police have not released an estimate
as to how fast Thiara was driving, they said
it was "well above the posted speed limit
of 35 mph." The cause of the
