Family of Wichita State international student plans to create legacy from tragedy

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - A tragedy in Wichita is leading to a legacy on the other side of the world. A settlement was reached for the family of a Wichita State international student who drowned at an off-campus apartment pool.

This weekend, a nearly 8,600 mile journey was completed to hand-deliver the funds to the student’s parents, who have plans to honor their son.

“What I’ve heard through s, he was a very kind gentleman and a gentle soul. He graduated top of his class in a very challenging subject of computer science and he had a great future in front of him,” said attorney Abdul Arif.

23-year-old Manideep Kolli was earning a master’s in computer science at Wichita State. He’s originally from an area near Hyderabad, India.

Wichita attorney Arif grew up in that central part of India and met Manideep’s father about a year ago when he showed up at Arif’s office after picking up his son’s posthumous diploma seeking help.

“I saw them immediately, and I could tell from the father’s body language that he was grieving immensely. You could just tell the grief in his face. I sat him down, gave him a cup of tea and listened to his story. Obviously, being a parent myself of two boys, I choked up myself hearing his story,” said Arif. “After that, I told him, I don’t practice personal injury but I have friends in this business who do.”

Arif worked with DeVaughnJames Injury Lawyers in an effort to see some justice for Manideep.

A settlement demand letter said in June 2023, Manideep went into his off-campus apartment complex’s pool with a friend for the first time, not realizing how deep it was.

DeVaughnJames Injury Lawyers Dustin DeVaughn said, “The slope from the shallow end to the deep end of the pool is extremely steep. What it appears from the video is that Manideep carefully got in, was walking around the shallow end and sees a ladder and was walking towards the ladder. Because of the slope of the pool is so steep, his feet quickly had nothing to touch, and he sunk very silently.”

He added, “That’s what the experts tell us; these drowning cases, the victim, very often, just goes under with no noise. That’s exactly what you can see on the surveillance video.”

First responders removed Manideep from the pool, and R restored a heartbeat, but he remained in a coma for seven days before being pronounced dead.

“It used to be a diving pool and the difference between a wading pool and a diving pool is there’s a very steep transition from the shallow to the deep end,” said DeVaughn.

DeVaughn said standard public and semi-publis pool safety measures were absent.

DeVaughn said, “This situation would have been prevented would the pool and a ‘rope and float’ across the line where the shallow went to deep. If it had surface depth markers on the side of the pool. At one time, this apartment complex had those but over time, they just faded away.”

He also said there should have been a demarcation line on the pool floor to show where there was a change in depth.

DeVaughn said the City of Wichita ordinance treats pools at apartments as semi-public and are to abide by industry standards.

In November, a settlement was reached without a lawsuit with the apartment complex owner and insurer for $1 million.

“No amount of money will bring back Manideep. Again, what the family wants is for something like this to never happen again,” said DeVaughn.

On Thanksgiving Day, Arif flew to India to deliver the settlement checks to Manideep’s parents at a ceremony. They plan to use the funds to start a school and educational memorial fund in their son’s name.

Arif said, “His legacy and his life and his aspirations will continue to live on through the funds received for his untimely ing. That is some consolation.”

A legacy that’s about training and preparing others to pursue their dreams.

“Story that continues to provide educational opportunities for young people such as himself,” said Arif.

After remaining medical expenses and attorney costs, Manideep’s parents received about $600,000.

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