KOTTAYAM: They had been schoolmates, grown up together and pursued higher studies in different places, but remained close through the years. On Wednesday, Ashley Ann Thomas, 24, and Kripa Merin Kurian, 23, died when the scooter they were on met with an accident on Kottayam-Kumily (KK Road) highway near Pampady. The deaths of the two women plunged Pampady and Meenadom villages into grief.
The accident occurred around 9am at the 13th Mile junction near Pampady on the Kottayam-Kumily highway. According to the police, a car travelling ahead of the scooter suddenly braked to avoid hitting a motorcycle parked on the roadside and a man standing nearby, causing the two-wheeler to skid into the path of a private bus approaching from the opposite direction. Both women died on the spot. Ashley was riding the scooter, while Kripa was riding pillion.
Ashley is the daughter of Thomas of Vattakkavunkal House, Meenadom, while Kripa is the daughter of Fr Kuriakose Kashisha of Kadavumbhagam House, Pampady. Kripa had completed her postgraduate studies in Australia, and her convocation was scheduled for March. She and her brother, Kiran Jacob, who works in Brisbane, arrived home on Sunday for holidays and were scheduled to return to Australia on November 15.
Her father, Fr Kuriakose Kashisha, is director of Blossom Valley Child Development Centre in Pampady. Her mother is Anita Kurian. Her mortal remains will be brought home on Thursday morning. The funeral service will be held at 2pm at St Ignatius Jacobite Syrian Church, Kadavumbhagam, Pampady, with Catholicos Baselios Joseph Bava as the chief celebrant.
Ashley had completed her postgraduate studies in Bengaluru and had recently completed the ACCA course, with her results announced earlier this week. Her body will be brought home on Thursday. The funeral will be held at St George Orthodox Church, Meenadom, on Friday.
Despite pursuing their studies in different places, the two had remained close since schooldays and would travel together whenever they returned home. On Wednesday too, they were travelling to meet their friend in Kanam.
After autopsy at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kottayam, the bodies were handed over to the relatives.