India, Dec. 29 -- Eight hours after a crash on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway's Nuh stretch, Lachhi Ram, 42, and his wife Kusum Lata, 38, were found dead inside their mangled WagonR. Both had remained alive for hours after the accident, trapped inside the vehicle, bleeding and waiting for help that never arrived. No passerby stopped, no patrol vehicle reached the spot and no emergency response was triggered through the night. By the time the help arrived at 7.38am on December 3, it was futile.

The couple's deaths left behind four orphaned children.

The family is from Karauli district in Rajasthan. Ram had been living in Delhi, hoping to build a more secure future for his children through education and stable work. His WagonR, bearing a Del...