An Indian-origin father-of-two has died in a tragic car crash in Queensland, just weeks after his wife and children joined him in Australia to begin a new life together.
Sarath Mohandas, 37, was killed after the Tesla Model Y he was driving left the road, crashed into a tree and caught fire at the intersection of Augusta Parkway and Magnolia Drive in Brookwater, southwest of Brisbane, shortly after 1.30am on 19 July 2026.
Emergency services attended the scene, but Mohandas was declared dead.
His wife, Sithara Sivadasan, has shared a heartbreaking tribute, remembering him as her “best friend”, a loving father and the sole breadwinner of their family.
“He worked tirelessly to build a better future for us,” she wrote in a fundraising appeal launched to support the family.
The tragedy came just two months after Sithara and the couple’s two children, aged 10 and four, moved from Kerala, India, to Australia to reunite with Mohandas.
Sithara said she resigned from her secure government job in India so the family could finally live together.
“We moved into a rental home in Augustine Heights, filled with dreams of starting a new life,” she wrote.
“Instead, our world has been shattered beyond words….In an instant, my children lost their loving father, and I lost my life partner.”
The family had only recently celebrated another milestone, purchasing their Tesla Model Y just five weeks before the fatal crash.
In a social media post on 13 June, Sithara shared a video of the vehicle’s delivery and described it as the family’s “newest family member”.
“The kids are already obsessed with the screen, but the Tesla Light Show in the garage definitely stole the spotlight.”
Following the crash, Sithara launched a fundraising appeal to help cover funeral costs, repatriate Mohandas’ body to his hometown of Thrissur in Kerala, and support her children as the family returns to India.
“No words can express the pain of losing Sarath, and no amount of money can replace him,” she wrote.
“Thank you for your prayers, compassion and generosity during the darkest time of our lives.”
The fundraiser said donations would assist with funeral expenses, repatriation costs, travel arrangements and immediate living expenses as Sithara and her children begin rebuilding their lives after the sudden loss.
Mohandas’ death has left his family, friends and the wider Indian-Australian community mourning the loss of a man who had moved to Australia in pursuit of a better future for his family.
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