Luke Garrett Resecker, 19, was jailed this week nearly two years after the crash that prosecutors said was caused by his reckless, drug-fueled driving.
Resecker crossed the double yellow line on a highway near Cleburne, Texas, and plowed into a minivan carrying seven people on December 26, 2023.
Six members of the same family were killed instantly while a seventh was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Those killed were identified as Rushil Barri, 28; Naveena Potabathula, 39; Nageswararao Ponnada, 64; Sitamahalkshmi Ponnada, 60; Kruthik Potabathula, 10; and Nishidha Potabathula, 9.
The family had been returning from a trip to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center on a holiday outing.
The lone survivor, a paralyzed 43-year-old Lokesh Potabathula, lost his wife, children, cousin, and in-laws.
During the trial, prosecutors described the impact as 'catastrophic,' showing photos of twisted metal and shattered glass strewn across the highway.
Resecker's pickup truck was found littered with marijuana wax, a vape pen, and loose cannabis.
A toxicology report confirmed THC in his bloodstream at the time of the crash.
When Resecker was first arrested in early 2024, his smiling mugshot infuriated victims' relatives and stunned the public.
The image of the grinning teen spread rapidly online. Prosecutors said it showed the sheer indifference he felt at the devastation he caused.
During the trial in Johnson County, Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Miller recited each victim's name in her closing argument.
'Justice for Rushil. Justice for Naveena. Justice for Nageswararao. Justice for Sitamahalakshmi.
'Justice for Kruthik. Justice for Nishidha. Justice for Lokesh — and justice for this community,' she told jurors.
After a week of testimony, the jury took just hours to reach a decision.
Resecker was sentenced to 65 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, a term prosecutors said reflected both the magnitude of the tragedy and the reckless disregard for human life.
The Johnson and Somervell Counties District Attorney's Office called the case 'by no means an easy one,' praising investigators, crash analysts, and first responders for their 'tireless work in pursuit of justice.'
Lokesh Potabathula, the only surviving member of his family, was pulled from the mangled minivan with spinal fractures, broken ribs, and intestinal injuries.
According to a GoFundMe created after the crash, he underwent multiple surgeries and initially lost his sight. He remains partially paralyzed.
His wife, Naveena, and their two young children, Kruthik and Nishidha, were killed alongside her parents and cousin.
The family had recently moved from Plano, Texas, to Alpharetta, Georgia, to start a new life, returning to North Texas over the holidays to visit friends.
Rushil Barri, the cousin who was driving the van, had immigrated from India in 2020 for graduate studies and was living in Irving. Friends described him as hardworking and ambitious.
'We were like brothers,' his roommate Ayyappala Bandaru told NBC News shortly after the crash. 'He had very big dreams. He always used to think about tomorrow. He used to say, 'Man, we need to rule this world.'
Resecker, then just 18, was seriously injured in the crash himself.
Because of his condition, the Department of Public Safety ruled he was 'not medically fit' for jail confinement, and a judge placed him under house arrest with a GPS monitor after he posted a $50,000 bond.
He was eventually indicted on six counts of intoxication manslaughter, two counts of intoxication assault, and drug possession.
His passenger, 17-year-old Preston Glass, survived but suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him mentally impaired.
When asked by police after the crash, Resecker admitted to smoking marijuana earlier that day. Troopers said they found drug paraphernalia inside the truck.
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