By Dan Wooding

Founder of ASSIST Ministries

LEWISVILLE, AR (ANS) -- An allegedly intoxicated driver driving in the wrong lane slammed into a tour bus carrying Nashville Southern gospel music duo Jeff and Sheri Easter today (July 8, 2011) at approximately 2:00 AM.

The couple were leaving their appearance in El Dorado, AR and were on their way to Mesquite, TX.

The GRAMMY-nominated, Dove Award winning group was traveling on US Hwy 82 in Lewisville, AR when, according to media reports, a driver entered their lane and caused the collision.

Sheri Easter states: “We were on a long stretch of road on Hwy 82 headed into Garland, AR. Our driver, Tyler, noticed one headlight coming toward us in our lane. He veered to avoid hitting the driver. All of a sudden, the driver of the car made a hard right hitting the side of our bus.”

Jeff Easter continues, “We called 911 and Madison, Kyle (drummer), Tyler (driver) and me went to check on the man driving the car. He was fine and out of the nine people involved in the wreck, there were no injuries.”

Sheri Easter added, “We are very thankful that no one was injured and that our driver's (Tyler) response protected everyone.”

The uninsured driver of the vehicle was arrested, charged with DWI, and taken into custody.

Jeff and Sheri have been nominated for numerous Dove Awards and won five. They’ve also received a Grammy nomination, and Sheri has been named the Singing News Favorite Alto eleven times and the Singing News Female Vocalist four times.

Apart from their frequent appearances on the Gaither Homecoming tour and videos, Jeff and Sheri have a fairly heavy touring schedule of their own.

“When we perform, we want people to leave a little different than when they came in,” Sheri explained. “We want them to have a great time smiling, laughing, crying and healing. We want them to know God loves them and that He is in control.”

And so, for this popular couple, they can say that God was in control of what could have been a terrible accident.

Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 47 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.

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