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Indian student in U.S. dies after 14 months in Coma
Neelam Shinde died on March 28 after a February 2025 hit-and-run in California; family later donated her organs
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 08, Apr 2026
- 18:02 EDT
- 31
Neelam Shinde / LinkedIn/ Neelam Shinde
Neelam Tanaji Shinde, a 35-year-old Indian student in the United States who had remained in a coma for nearly 14 months after a hit-and-run crash in California, passed away last month.
According to media reports quoting family members, Shinde died on March 28 after prolonged treatment. Her funeral took place on April 8 in California.
Also Read: Indian-origin man charged with murder in California crash
A native of Vadgaon in Maharashtra’s Satara district, Shinde reportedly had suffered critical head, chest, arm and leg injuries after being hit by a speeding vehicle while out on a walk in Sacramento on Feb. 14, 2025.
She was admitted to UC Davis Medical Center, where she underwent emergency surgery and remained in intensive care for months. During treatment, she developed complications, including an infection linked to a feeding tube, according to her relatives.
As she never regained consciousness, doctors later withdrew life support. Shinde was pursuing a master’s degree in engineering and was in the final phase of her course at California State University at the time of the accident.
She had earlier completed a bachelor of engineering in computer science from Sinhgad Institute in Pune and had also completed a one-year internship at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), according to her family.
Her case had drawn attention in India after her father, Tanaji Shinde, faced delays in obtaining an emergency US visa to visit her. Politician Supriya Sule had sought intervention from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in the US.
“Student Neelam Shinde has met with an accident in the USA and is hospitalized in a local hospital. Her father, Tanaji Shinde, from Satara, Maharashtra, India, urgently needs to visit his daughter due to a medical emergency,” Sule had said in a post on X.
Following the intervention, Shinde’s father and brother were able to travel to the United States, though the family said the delay added to their distress. The family was also dealing with the recent death of Shinde’s mother shortly before the accident.
After her death, the family honored her wish to donate organs. Relatives said her skin and corneas were donated, local media reported.
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