Trapped Inside Crashed WagonR For 8 Hours, No One Stopped To Help
Today we have come a lot forward in terms of road safety in India. However, despite the advancements, there are a lot of cases which make us feel that we have made no progress. Recently an extremely shocking incident has been reported online, and in this particular case, what happened was that a couple from Delhi died on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway after being trapped inside their mangled Maruti Suzuki WagonR for nearly 8 hours. It has been reported that not a single person stopped to check on the passengers inside this vehicle.
According to the reports, what happened was that 42-year-old Lacchi Ram and his 38-year-old wife, Kusum Lata, were travelling on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. At around 11:52 PM, the CCTV footage from the camera installed on the expressway showed that the WagonR was being driven on the third lane going toward Delhi. Then, at the same time, a speeding vehicle which cut in from the left caused the WagonR driver to lose control.
Following which, the WagonR then swerved and crashed into a multi-axle dumper truck loaded with stone on the extreme left lane of the expressway. At the time of this incident, both airbags of this vehicle were deployed. However, the doors were jammed shut, and the couple was heavily injured but was still alive. It is believed that they were conscious but were trapped inside the car.
What is even more shocking and disturbing is that after the first accident, at around 12:14 AM, a white-colored Maruti Suzuki Ertiga also slammed into the already crushed WagonR after being at a high speed. Due to this accident, the WagonR was pushed ahead. Soon after, the Ertiga driver reversed the car and fled the scene and did not try to help the driver or his wife. The same was the case with the dumper driver.
It has been mentioned in the latest report that after the second accident, the car remained on the side of the road. And the CCTV footage also showed that the mangled WagonR was stranded on the side of the road for 7 hours and 24 minutes. During this time, no patrol vehicle passed, and also there was no intervention from highway agencies. Additionally, the local police also did not reach the accident spot.
What happened at 7:38 AM was that a few villagers who were walking along the highway saw the wrecked WagonR and called the authorities. Unfortunately, by that time, both Ram and Kusum succumbed to injuries. Later, when the CCTV footage was checked, both crashes were seen in detail, and the moment when the injured couple appeared to still be moving inside the car was also noted.
As a result of this negligence from the highway patrol and from the hundreds of cars that passed on the highway, the family members of Ram and Kusum are extremely angry. They stated that the death of the couple was not due only to the crash but also due to the collapse of human and official response. One of the family members stated, “How can a mangled car with two dying people lie on a major expressway all night and no one sees it?”
Nagar Singh, maternal uncle, stated that it is known that expressways are monitored by NHAI and police. And supposedly there are patrol vehicles on the road which pass every hour. However, in this case, no patrol vehicle was seen in 8 hours. He questioned, “Either they were negligent or patrols happen only on paper.”
Devi Singh, Ram Singh’s father, stated, “This is not how they should have died. Even if they were injured, even if they were disabled for life, we would have cared for them. But to die waiting for help that never came – how can the authorities be so irresponsible?” He added, “First the calls rang, then they went off. After 8 AM the phone started ringing again, and a policeman answered. That is how we learned they had died.”