More than three months are expected to pass before a decision is made whether to charge the suburban St. Louis police officer involved in the car crash that killed three Eastern students and another victim, authorities said.

Don Schneider, assistant to St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch, said it would be a minimum of three months before the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office receives the reports.

Schneider said they have to wait until they get the toxicology reports, investigative reports, photographs, witness statements and the complete accident reconstruction.

“The case is still under investigation . so we can’t speculate on charges,” Schneider said. “Right now, we haven’t looked at a piece of paper.”

He said he would not theorize on what might result from the case.

“That’s just not good policy,” he said. “We don’t do hypotheticals.”

Once the reports are received, they will need to be evaluated and reviewed.

“It’s going to take a long time to get this all together,” Schneider said. “People hope and anticipate that we will move quickly in these things, but it takes a long time.”

The memorial service for the four victims, which included international graduate students Anitha Lakshmi Veerapaneni, Anusha Anumolu and Priya Darshini Muppavarapu, was held Wednesday at the Jay B. Smith Funeral Home in Maplewood, Mo.

The victims’ bodies will next be flown home to India. The cost to send the four bodies is estimated at $60,000.

The Telugu Association of St. Louis is raising funds to help pay for this cost. Donations can be made online or can be sent to Suren Pathuri, president of the association, at 605 Ridge Woods Manor Drive, Ellisville, MO 63038. The association asks that donors write “crash victims’ fund” on the memo line of checks.

Campus group offers support

The Asian-American Association plans to help the families of their fellow international students. The association has planned a Ramen Noodle Contest from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday in the Thomas Hall basement party room. The contestant that eats the most Ramen Noodles with chopsticks in three minutes will be the winner.

The cost is $3 to participate, and proceeds will go to the Telugu Association of St. Louis.

Continued coverage of the accident:

nicole w. on Dipity.

Emily Zulz can be reached at 581-7942 or at