Careless driver caused accident, students say

Forty students at the Seventh-day Adventist College of Yaoundé, Cameroon escaped unharmed from a bus crash on February 6. The students, ages 10 to 15, were heading to the zoo as part of a series of youth week activities.

According to the students the accident was caused by the driver's carelessness. They said he scolded them when they started singing "Unto Jesus I Surrender" and asked them to stop. When they would not, he put on loud, secular music, left the wheel and started dancing. They then passed a police station and as a police officer started to pursue the vehicle, the driver went faster and lost control as the vehicle went down a slope.

Witnesses said the driver and his assistant jumped out of the bus. The bus killed the assistant when it crashed against a bank.

Bystanders ran to the scene and helped pull the students from the bus. The bus exploded after the last student left the bus. None of the students were seriously injured.

"This is the manifestation of God's power," said Gaimatakone Pierre, the college's principal. "I thank God for His protection ... God's protection is the best and in this campus we pray every morning for [all the] students we have and we are confident in God's presence among us."

Adventist College of Yaoundé has more than 2,500 students, most of whom are not Adventist. It is among the top 10 educational institutions in Cameroon, according to Abraham Bakari, communication director for the church's Central Africa region.