A DOCTOR accused of killing his nine-year old daughter in a road smash while rushing her to a maths lesson blamed his car for the crash and said the tragedy had left him a ''tormented soul.''

Dr Chizoro Edohasim, 47, from Altrincham, had been taking middle child Olivia and her older sister Eva to a private tutor when their Toyota Auris suddenly accelerated through a red light and ploughed into a wall.

Olivia - who was sitting in the back seat with her seatbelt on, suffered fatal back injuries in the 59mph impact which was described by one witness as ''like a bomb going off.''

She died at the scene at Stamford Brook Road, West Timperley, while 11-year old Eva who also had her seatbelt on underwent emergency surgery for serious stomach injuries at hospital.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, father of three Edohasim - whose Nigerian father is a priest - denied he was late for the lesson and refuted prosecution claims he had been 'rushing'.

He said the car had inexplicably accelerated when he tried apply the brakes in traffic.

''I wish I am able to say that I made a mistake and this is the reason my car behaved in this way,'' he told the jury last Friday. ''I wasn’t distracted in any way. It is a journey I make every Saturday. This suddenness and the way the car behaved just overwhelmed me.''

The court heard the girls had previously been repeatedly late for their maths lesson and their father had been given a warning about punctuality - yet he failed to improve on his timekeeping.

The tragedy occurred at 10.50am on May 7 last year when Edohasim's car was seen 'zig-zagging' in between traffic and overtaking two cars on the wrong side of the road - causing an oncoming car to take evasive action. Moments later the vehicle jumped the red light at full throttle at a junction in Altrincham and hit the wall outside a block of flats.

Edohasim - who specialises in treating patients with addictions - admitted he was wearing flip-flops at the time of the crash but he said it was not certain his footwear played any part in the incident.

He added: ''That Saturday was the most relaxed Saturday. I reversed my car slowly from my drive and when I was in the road I was going 27/28 miles an hour.

''When I was coming to the traffic lights I knew I needed to slow down and I did take my foot off the accelerator and applied the brake but then had this feeling as if the car was on a flooded road. It was strange and had never happened before.

"I applied the brake again and there was a sudden jolt in the car. I put my foot on the brake again but very suddenly something happened within a split second. I was overwhelmed. It was so strange and it happened so quick. That morning my concentration was fine - I wasn’t distracted in any way. It is a journey I make very Saturday.

''But this suddenness and the way the car behaved just overwhelmed me and I panicked and I was afraid. I had never know this car to behave like this and I knew that we were in trouble. I just needed to try to control the car in any way I could. I had never known the vehicle to ever get to that speed before.

''My plan was just to see what I can do to halt the car or control it to the best of my ability - but I wasn’t prepared for it. I don’t knew what happened, I didn’t know how to control the car anymore at that time.

''It was a terrifying moment for me. I wish I was in a position to control this car. The burden is on me every day. Every moment of my life this was a child who is very close to me. Very very close to me. She has my mannerisms. I have asthma she has asthma. I wish I am able to say that I made a mistake and this is the reason my car behaved in this way.

''It would help me with the process I’m going though. Honestly I wish this didn’t happen to us. I’m a tormented soul. I recall after the impact somebody ran to me and I asked him: 'what of my children, what of my girls, what about them?''

He said of Olivia: ''She was a bundle of joy. She was a wonderful girl. It pains me to describe her with words. have always wished to be a father and all my life God chose me to to be a father. I love my girls. I have no reason to hurt myself. I never thought about it in my life. In my job I help people who want do do that. That is what I do.''

The court heard police forensic vehicle examiners found no evidence of mechanical failure on the two year old car. But tests showed it was travelling at 48mph six seconds from the impact yet accelerated to up to 67mph just one second from when the vehicle ploughed into the wall. It only lost speed when it hit a kerb before the wall causing one of the wheels to spin freely.

Edohasim denies causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The hearing continues.