Thus, Rev Dr Graham Mercer, a 73-year-old retired minister in the United Reformed Church, was returning from a service when he is thought to have suffered a heart attack and consequently, lost control on his Renault Megane, the Telegraph reported. Onlookers claim that Mercer's car left the road, hit a wall and eventually, crashed into a Vauxhall Corsa coming from the opposite direction.
"It was going incredibly fast," explained Liz Taylor, who witnessed the accident near Spital Dam said. "Then there was a thud as it hit our wall. We rushed out and saw the two cars were spread across the road. As soon as we saw the man in the Megane we knew this wasn't just a boy racer going too fast. He was very poorly and was slumped across the passenger seat," she added.
Due to the impact, all the passengers in the Corsa died. Olivia Wood,6, her grandmother Linda Wood, 59 and her great-aunt Ann Hargreaves, 71, who was driving died on the spot. Another passenger of the car Joan Roden-Jones, 64, a family friend was taken to the hospital but she died hours later.
Rev Graham Mercer died as well but it is not clear so far whether his death was caused by the heart attack or by the injuries he suffered due to the crash.
The Rev Howard Sharpe, moderator of the Mersey Synod of the United Reformed Church, described Mercer as "a good minister and a lovely, kind man" and regretted his loss.
Certainly any driver could have a heart attack while behind the wheel, but this risk increases with the age of the motorist. We have nothing against elderly drivers but it seems there is a strong connection between the age of the driver and the accident he/she is involved into.
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