A TERRIFIED car passenger grabbed the steering wheel when the driver went into a "trance-like state" and drove toward an oncoming vehicle, an inquest heard.

Front passenger Yasmin Bi, of Lina Street, Accrington, was travelling with driver Sajida Parveen and other relatives last October, when they were in a fatal accident at Oswaldtwistle.

Mrs Parveen, 30, later died at the scene. And one of the backseat passengers, pregnant mother Abida Bi, 26, underwent an emergency caesarean operation, but her baby later died.

The other passengers were Ameena Ahmed, aged four, and 56-year-old Imtiaz Bi, both of Accrington.

Police say injuries could have been less serious if rear seat belts had been worn.

At a coroner's inquest at Hyndburn Magistrates' Court yesterday, witnesses described how the women's Honda Civic car swerved from lane to lane at Blackburn Road, Oswaldtwistle. It crashed into a Vauxhall Vectra, driven by another Accrington woman, near the Old Mother Redcap pub, on Saturday afternoon, October 18.

Front passenger Yasmin Bi said all was well and the group were looking froward to a shopping trip, until the car swerved sidewards.

"I said (to Sajida) what are you doing? But she did not say anything. I took the steering wheel and tried to steady the car. I told her to brake but she did not. I could see cars coming toward us and tried to get us back into the proper lane. She wouldn't do anything to slow down and wouldn't release her grip. In the last second, I stopped screaming because I could see we were going to crash into the car. Next thing, I remember the air bag and smoke smell. Sajida was slumped over the wheel but said she was OK. But she went quiet."

When coroner Michael Singleton asked if the driver went into a trance-like state, Miss Bi said yes.

The driver of the oncoming car was Yasmin Khan, of Stanley Street, also Accrington. She recalled: "It happened too quickly. It collided head-on. My air bag inflated and I came to a stop. I was shocked and someone helped me out the car. I couldn't walk because my left knee was cut." Her son was with her but uninjured.

Witness Michael Grady, of Fielding Lane, Oswaldtwistle, was behind Mrs Khan and helped her. He said Mrs Parveen's car as out of control, as if driven by "boy-racers".

Harold Clarke, of Wordsworth Close, Oswaldtwistle, was on his way to as Blackburn birthday party with his wife and grandsons. But he recalled Mrs Parveen's car overtaking too closely .

"I was sure it was going to hit me and was scared. It veered sidewards and collided. I called the emergency services. In my opinion, the accident was caused by the white car driver."

Wagon driver Andrew Hitchin, of Earl Street, Clayton-le-Moors was behind Mrs Parveen's car and remembered it swerving three or four times. "I dropped back, thinking the driver was losing control, and saw it collide head-on. Its manoeuvres seemed unnecessary."

Police officers Peter Wright and Stephen Burgess helped the victims and said there were no road defects or excessive speeds.

But PC Burgess added: "It appears the driver lost control while overtaking. It is possible the front passenger contributed to the loss of control.

"And, if the rear passengers had worn belts, this would have lessened the injuries."

Mrs Parveen died from multiple injuries while baby Raees Ahmed, who was 29 weeks old, died from asphyxia due to placental abruption. Breathing was detected upon her birth but she died subsequently.

The coroner recorded verdicts of accidental death.

The dead baby's father, Waheed Ahmed, of Lina Street, Accrington was present at the inquest but her mother was not.