A Texas teenager who smirked in his mugshot after a horrific head-on collision that wiped out a family has been sentenced to 65 years behind bars. Luke Garrett Resecker, 19, was jailed this week nearly two years after the crash that prosecutors said was caused by his reckless, drug-fueled driving.
Resecker crossed the double yellow line on a highway near Cleburne, Texas, and plowed into a minivan carrying seven people on December 26, 2023.
Six members of the same family were killed instantly while a seventh was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Those killed were identified as Rushil Barri, 28; Naveena Potabathula, 39; Nageswararao Ponnada, 64; Sitamahalkshmi Ponnada, 60; Kruthik Potabathula, 10; and Nishidha Potabathula, 9.
The family had been returning from a trip to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center on a holiday outing.
The lone survivor, a paralyzed 43-year-old Lokesh Potabathula, lost his wife, children, cousin, and in-laws.
During the trial, prosecutors described the impact as 'catastrophic,' showing photos of twisted metal and shattered glass strewn across the highway.