A PASSENGER, who was in a Mercedes Benz car which plunged into a house in Ndola, says she was surprised that her companion drove the

vehicle at an unusually high speed before swirling into the living room.

Silvia Kalunga said from her Ndola Central Hospital bed that she had cautioned Beiton Kunda to reduce the speed as they were about to join Kwacha from Kalewa Road.

Ms Kalunga said the vehicle was running at 260 km per hour and immediately cautioned Mr Kunda to be careful but did not heed the advice.

Realising danger, she fastened her seat belt as the vehicle swung over a furrow and ploughed through a wire fence before lodging into the living room.

"When I cautioned him to reduce the speed, he said he knew what he was doing saying he had been driving for a long time. I even cautioned him to turn when we approached Kwacha road but before I knew it the accident had happened," Ms Kalunga said.

On Tuesday, Mr Kunda lost control and plunged into a house on Kwacha road belonging to Amos Mwaba, a retired Government accountant.

Mr Kunda is in a critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with multiple injuries while Ms Kalunga is admitted to the female

surgical ward.

Ms Kalunga said Mr Kunda, a Bank of Zambia employee, had asked her to accompany him to town after their drinking spree at a bar near Zambian Breweries Plc premises before the accident happened.

Kalunga, a mother of one, said she stays in Mufulira but usually comes to Ndola on Mr Kunda's invitation.

NCH public relations officer Shona Chalimbana said Mr Kunda was stable and still in the ICU.