A crumpled car carried some of the most precious passengers imaginable — a young couple about to become first-time parents.

Casey King, 25, and her partner, Ryan, were heading home from a quiet night of board games when tragedy struck on the M1 at Bilinga on the Gold Coast on July 25.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Baby Henry fights for life after crash

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

The back seat where Casey sat took the brunt of a high-speed crash caused by two P-plate drivers who police allege were racing at speeds of up to 180km/h.

The car was so badly crushed that emergency crews had to remove the door entirely to free the mum to be, who was trapped for nearly an hour.

“It’s just so unfair for a little baby,” said one of Casey’s sisters, Alivia Nosti.

“I don’t think the anger has set in (as) we are still in shock,” Casey’s sister, Kayla Nosti, added.

An 18-year-old driver crashed into the couple’s car, while the other driver didn’t stop.

Casey, 38 weeks pregnant, was left trapped with a broken bone in her back.

“To turn up to the scene and see your friends in that state is horrific, and they were just frozen,” family friend Cassidy Hoare told 7NEWS.

“She’s just like I need to be calm for bub, I just need to be calm.”

Casey required an emergency caesarean, delivering her baby boy, Henry, who was born unresponsive and in critical condition.

“He suffered a serious brain injury,” Alivia said.

“Brain bleeds; a fractured skull. A broken clavicle. They’re living in a nightmare they can’t wake up from.”

Ryan sustained minor injuries.

“While both of them are physically healing, the emotional toll is immense,” Alivia wrote in a fundraiser she set up for the young family.

The couple had just installed Henry’s car seat that day.

They moved the front passenger seat forward to make room, so Casey sat in the backseat directly behind Ryan, where there was more space.

Multiple witnesses told police the two P-plate drivers were racing, and police investigations continue.

“We have to get it right. We owe that to the victims,” Superintendent Peter Miles said.

“Those innocent people just driving about their own business had nothing to do with this, we owe it to them to get it right.”

No charges have been laid, yet.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the young couple focus on Henry’s recovery.

“We don’t know his future,” said Kayla.

“So hope and health for Henry.”