Indian student in US succumbs to accident injuries after 14 months in coma

MUMBAI: An Indian student who was in a vegetative state for 14 months following a car accident in the United States succumbed to her injuries. Neelam Shinde (35), a native of Satara, Maharashtra, died in a hospital in California. Relatives said that she died on March 28 and the funeral was held on Tuesday.

Neelam was a postgraduate engineering student at California State University. The accident occurred on February 14 last year. Neelam, who was out for a walk, was hit by a speeding car, leaving her seriously injured and later in a coma. It was earlier reported that her father had a delay in getting a visa to see her. Subsequently, after the intervention of people, including Supriya Sule MP, the visas were approved for her father and her relative.

After the two-month visa expired, the two returned home. It was a relative who was alongside Neelam during her final hours. Meanwhile, after the death was confirmed, Neelam's father agreed to donate her organs. Neelam's skin and cornea will be donated. Neelam, who completed her B.Tech from Pune, had completed a one-year internship at NASA.