New Hampshire House votes to protect abortion rights

BY Varun Swaminathan The Dartmouth

This article was originally published on April 4, 2023.

Last month, New Hampshire state representatives voted on a series of abortionrelated bills in the closely divided New Hampshire House of Representatives. In a win for reproductive rights advocates, the House voted to codify abortion rights up to 24 weeks into pregnancy and remove civil and criminal penalties for doctors who perform abortions after that period, according to state legislative records.

BY Isabelle Han

This article was originally published on April 4, 2023.

On March 27, a Dartmouth Coach bus struck and killed Vishwachand Kolla, a 47-year-old man from Lexington, Massachusetts, at Boston Logan International Airport.

The accident occurred at 4:59 p.m. on the Terminal B lower roadway in the arrivals section of the airport, according to a written statement from the Massachusetts state police. Kolla had just emerged from his Acura SUV when the bus made contact with him and “dragged him along” the driver’s side of the car, the statement added. Kolla was picking up his friend, a visiting musician, when he was hit, according to a GoFundMe page organized by friends Priya and Girish Hanchinamani.

According to Noemi Mesropian ’26, a passenger on the Coach at the time of the accident, the bus was en route from Boston Logan airport to Hanover. The bus had left its frst terminal at 4:50 p.m. and was making its way through the airport to pick up additional passengers, Mesropian said. She added that when the bus arrived in Terminal B, it “turned too close to the car that was next to [the bus].”

“[The bus driver] screamed ‘I think I just hit someone,’ and everyone just freaked out,” Mesropian said. “I saw [the bus driver] fall to her knees.”

Members of the Massport Fire Department and Boston EMS, along with an of-duty nurse who witnessed the accident frsthand, performed “lifesaving measures” on Kolla, the police statement noted. However, Kolla had sustained severe injuries and was pronounced dead on-scene by a paramedic.

The Massachusetts state police wrote that the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, which “regulates the commercial bus industry,” and the Dartmouth Transportation Company, which owns the Dartmouth Coach, also responded to the accident.

After the accident, police interviewed several Coach passengers and told them all to remain in place, Mesropian said. After approximately an hour and a half, the passengers and their luggage were transferred to another bus, she added.

“It just continued to escalate, and the police started showing up,” Mesropian said. “People were screaming outside, and I was literally just sitting there. I knew

“We are devastated by the death of Mr. Kolla, and the pain his family is enduring,” Dartmouth Coach General Manager Keith Skorupski wrote in an email statement. Skorupski declined further comments due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.

According to his GoFundMe page, Kolla is survived by his wife Soujanya and his two sons: Madhav, a second grade student, and Dhruva, a ninth grade student.

“His departure has left a void among the community,” the GoFundMe page stated. “His last moments in this life were spent doing what he loved to do — helping everyone in need.”

According to an obituary from the Cremation Society of New Hampshire, Kolla worked as a Data Analytics Director for Takeda Pharmaceuticals and was an “integral part” of JET USA and VT Seva, organizations that serve community youth. He was also an active member of the Telugu and Indian communities in the Greater Boston area, the obituary noted.

“[Kolla] is remembered by his students as one of the most infuential persons in their lives and was their role model,” the Cremation Society of New Hampshire wrote.

Kolla’s funeral service was held on Apr. 1 in Manchester, NH.