“Lucky” woman escapes inferno as car catches fire on highway
A potentially horrible story was cut short Thursday night after a woman escaped being burnt alive…in her own car.
The escapee, who appeared to be in her mid thirties, was driving inwards Anthony area of Lagos State oblivious of the hell that was brewing in her car engine.
“Fire! Fire! Fire! See fire! Fire!” That was the shout that alerted her to the fledgling inferno.
An angel of a woman had raised the cry and hurried to the station of Lagos State Fire Service in the area to call for help.
Our escapee driver, who told us not to reveal her identity, was able to zoom to Town Planning bus stop.
As she took the bend and parked the car, a man who identified himself as Segun Gomez was on a motorbike. He saw her predicament, and didn’t panic.
“I have been in this kind of situation before that was why I was not afraid…in fact, I’ve been a victim so to speak,” he told Newsroom.
“I am also an officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA). I got down from my bike and approached the car. After helping the woman out, I removed the car battery immediately. All these happened so fast.”
The fire fighters responded well to the distress call and were able to stop the flames with fire extinguishers and sand. They also came with their fire truck in case the situation tried spiraling out of control.
“You can see she is lucky and didn’t get hurt,” an official told us.
The woman later called members of her family, two of whom came to the scene in another car.
She called one of them “uncle.” The other man appeared older (probably close to 60 in age). They didn’t speak to us.
Our reporter who was at the scene advised that she be seated to recover from shock. The only available seat was in the car her family drove to the place.
“I can’t enter any car right now,” she said, unable to hide her fear. Her hands were shaking.
Segun and the fire fighters helped them get a towing vehicle to move the razed car to a secure location.
We’re glad nobody died…or got injured for that matter.
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