NEW DELHI — Many times over the past year, a young woman from northern India who had accused a powerful politician of rape warned the authorities that her life was in danger.

If you want to live, she was told by the politician’s friends, you better drop the charges.

She had reason to be afraid. Last year, shortly after her father spoke out about the rape allegations, he was beaten to death.

On Sunday, the young woman, who the authorities said is around 19, was traveling on a rural highway in a car with two aunts and her lawyer when a truck smashed into them, head-on.

The young woman, the key witness in the rape case, is now in critical condition, fighting for her life. Her two aunts died.