NEW HAVEN, Conn — It’s been nearly a month since 23-year-old Priyanshu Agwal was critically injured in a hit-and-run near Amity Road and Whalley Avenue in New Haven.
Police said the driver who hit the University of New Haven student took off. Days later, Priyanshu was pronounced dead in the hospital.
Now, his family is sharing memories and messages for the community.
“I still feel like I’m in a dream, like I’m in a bad dream,” said Aman Agwal, Priyanshu’s brother.
Aman is now back home with family in India but was living in West Haven with Priyanshu at the time of the incident. The two came to the U.S. to go to college.
When Aman got the call from the police about what happened to his brother on Oct. 18, he initially thought it was a spam call. When the person didn’t ask for any money at the end of the call, and when he went into the other room to check on Priyanshu (who wasn’t there), he realized it was real. Soon, they rushed to the hospital.
“When one of his friends asked, like, what are the chances, and then they said like, there are no chances,” Agwal said.
Priyanshu was at Yale New Haven Hospital for more than a week. At that time, hundreds of people came to visit him and his family.
“I don’t want any other friends or family to be going through such a situation,” said Atithi Pawar, Priyanshu’s friend from UNH.
Now, nearly a month later, the family is waiting on an update from police. In the meantime, they’re sharing a message with the community.
“If you drive a car, always take responsibility. If you hit someone, always take responsibility,” Agwal said.
The incident happened just two months before Priyanshu was getting ready to graduate from UNH. His brother, Aman, previously graduated from UNH. The two were ready to live the American dream, after living a life full of struggles in India.
“He said, ‘I want to invite my parents to stay with us and we will have a good life,’” Agwal said about his brother.
Last week, UNH hosted a celebration of life in Priyanshu’s honor.
“It’s a loss for everybody to be losing a friend, a brother, a son like that. He was always, if you would sit with him, there is no chance that you would feel sad or anything,” Pawar said.
Now, the one thing family and friends are holding onto is that Priyanshu’s heart was donated to save another young man’s life. Something Agwal said is not common in their culture.
“I felt like, healing. He sacrificed his life for someone else. He came from India, as a foreigner, but he became American,” Agwal said.
The family is hoping to eventually meet the donor recipient.
“So that they make sure that he is doing great, he’s breathing fine, he’s alive. And that would be a great closure for them, for us, for everyone,” Pawar said.
UNH will be posthumously awarding Priyanshu his degree at the graduation ceremony in May.
As for the investigation, police were not available to comment on any updates on the case.
Anyone who has information pertaining to the case, however, is asked to call investigators at 203-946-6304 or go through the department’s anonymous tip line at 866-888-TIPS (8477).
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