Mumbai: "I will thank Allah till the end of my days."
These were the words Mohammed Sheikh, a cab driver in Mumbai, kept repeating after his miraculous escape from a near fatal accident on the Eastern Express highway flyover near Mankhurd. The other occupants of Sheikh's cab, two men and a woman also escaped unhurt.
Sheikh was driving a Maruti Esteem cab when a speeding 16-wheeler truck lost control and hit the divider on the flyover. Sheikh tried to avoid the truck, but his car smashed right into it.
"I was heading home when I saw the crash and the occupants scrambling out. I went to help them, but they looked unhurt, only the woman had a head injury. A by-stander helped them hail a cab and they left before the police could arrive," said Mayur Shah, an eyewitness.
Another truck which was right behind the Esteem, swerved to avoid the crash, lost control and went over the divider onto the wrong side of the flyover to crash into a tourist bus heading from the opposite direction. The driver of the bus, Vijay Nikam suffered a cut on his forehead, while Sheikh escaped with some minor bruises and cuts.
"I have no idea what happened. I was driving alongside the truck when suddenly there was a screeching of tyres and next thing I know, the truck had crashed into the divider and the car smashed into the truck. It is certainly Allah's will that I am still alive," said Sheikh.
"The truck seems to have lost control and crashed into the divider. We can't say anything for certain for now. We are investigating the matter," said PSI Pawar of Tilak Nagar Police Station.