crime · Nov 8, 9:12 AM
Johnson County Teen Gets 65 Years in Highway 67 Crash That Killed Six
A Johnson County teenager received a 65-year prison sentence for a fatal head-on collision near Cleburne that killed six people, including two children, while under the influence of THC. The crash also left his passenger with a severe brain injury.
A Cleburne-area jury has sentenced Luke Garrett Resecker to 65 years in prison for a THC-impaired crash on U.S. Highway 67 near County Road 1119 that killed six people on Dec. 26, 2023. Resecker was 17 at the time. According to cbsnews.com, toxicology confirmed active THC in his system when he crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a minivan carrying a family returning from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose.
The six people who died ranged in age from 9 to 64. They included Irving resident Rushil Barri, 28, and five members of an Alpharetta, Georgia family: Naveena Potabathula, 36; Nageswararao Ponnada, 64; Sitamahalakshmi Ponnada, 60; Krithik Potabathula, 10; and Nishidha Potabathula, 9. A surviving family member was left paralyzed, and Resecker's passenger suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Resecker faced six counts of intoxication manslaughter along with intoxication assault and drug possession charges. The case was prosecuted jointly by Johnson and Somervell county assistant district attorneys Connor Day and Stephanie Miller.