A third victim of a head-on horror smash which claimed the lives of six people was today named as 30-year-old Mohammed Fasha.
Imtiaz Mohammed, 33, a taxi driver, was killed instantly when an Audi mounted the central reservation of an underpass and hit the front of his taxi in Birmingham.
His family have revealed they are still waiting to break the tragic news to his youngest children.
Tauqeer Hussain, 26, who was in the Audi S3, was killed along with two other men, Mr Fasha and a 25-year-old man who has not been named.
A 42-year-old man and 43-year-old woman who were passengers in the seven-seater cab also died. A 22-year-old man from the Audi is fighting for his life in hospital.
Mr Mohammed’s father Ikhtiar said that three of the taxi driver’s young daughters are still unaware of their father’s death.
Mohammed Fasha, 30, (pictured) was killed following the horror crash in Birmingham
Imtiaz Mohammed, 33, pictured left, died in the smash in Lee Bank Middleway. He was described by his devastated family as ‘a legend’. Tauqeer Hussain, pictured right, from Small Heath, Birmingham, was confirmed as having been in the Audi travelling in the other direction
Taxo driver Mr Mohammed’s family paid tribute to a ‘loving’ and ‘hardworking’ man following the tragic crash
Mr Mohammed Snr told Radio WM: ‘His son who is 15 was upstairs crying. I said to him he won’t be coming back – you have to try and be brave.
‘Some of the children are very young and we didn’t tell them yet. They have gone to school today. The other three know that their daddy has passed away.
‘It is very sad. It is a tragedy for everyone from my family and also for the other family.’
The Belgrave Middleway, where the accident happened, has a 40mph speed limit and is covered by speed cameras at each end. But one camera, near a McDonald’s, is said to be inoperative.
A resident who lives nearby said: ‘The road is used as a racetrack by younger drivers.
‘People know that the camera on the McDonald’s side of the road does not work so they go at whatever speed they like. It’s common to see cars racing each other along here.’
Mr Mohammed, pictured with his children, was described as a ‘hard-working family man’
Six people were killed in the crash which happened in Birmingham in the early hours of Sunday
Investigators at the scene today as police try to work out what happened in the crash
Another onlooker, who filmed the aftermath of the carnage on his mobile phone, said: ‘That stretch of road is known for being used by lads racing their cars.
‘The Audi must have been doing at least 100mph when he came round that bend. It must have been coming down that road like a rocket.’
Police have said the investigation is still in the early stages, but it is understood they are looking at whether some of the victims were wearing seatbelts.
The underpass is one of the busiest roads in Birmingham and forms part of the ring-road around the city centre.
Lizzy Bowers, 18, from London, was in the McDonald’s when she heard two loud bangs. She said: ‘Everyone abandoned their cars and people flocked from everywhere.
‘There was two people lying lifeless about 20ft apart and then a taxi squashed up the wall against another car, which was almost unrecognisable. I saw at least two people trapped under the taxi.’
It is thought the Audi went over the central reservation and hit a taxi driving in the opposite direction. The taxi ended up on its side. Another, smaller, car was also crushed
The taxi driver’s younger brother Noorshad Mohammed said his sibling rang his wife Nargas Gul to tell her he would be coming home just before the crash. It would be the last time they spoke.
The 32-year-old said: ‘It was his last job of the night. That was the last time she spoke to him.’
Surrounded by the 33-year-old’s other relatives at the family home, father Ikhtiar Mohammed recalled how his ‘heart sank’ as police knocked on his door at 5am on Sunday.
The 65-year-old said: ‘I knew there was something wrong, as soon as I saw them. I thought to myself, “which of my sons is hurt”, I just knew something was seriously wrong.’
He said that Mr Mohammed’s wife, Ms Gul, was still in deep shock while relatives struggled with how to break the news to the couple’s five daughters and son, all aged under 15.
One of their girls had been due to celebrate her fourth birthday on Monday.
Locals who witnessed the scene told of their horror at the carnage on the dual carriageway
Flowers have been placed at the scene today, just over 24 hours after the horror crash
Older sister Nassrin Bibi paid tribute to her brother and said the family had been ‘shattered’ by what had happened.
Mr Mohammed worked for local firm Castle Cars, which said in a statement: ‘Imtiaz was a wonderful, young, hard-working family man’, who was ‘loved and respected by all’.
One of those who died was named locally by neighbours as Tauqeer Hussain, whose family declined to comment.
Sergeant Alan Hands, from the force’s Collision Investigation Unit, said: ‘We are still keen to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and has not yet spoken to us.
‘We are still trying to establish exactly what happened and our thoughts remain with the families who have lost-loved ones.
‘We aware of distressing images of the scene circulating on social media and we would ask the public to not share them and instead pass any footage to us to assist our investigation.’
A taxi driver and his two passengers – a man and a woman – were killed in the crash
Three men died when an Audi mounted the central reservation of the dual carriageway
He previously confirmed the road had been gritted at 5pm the previous evening.
Asked about what speeds the vehicles were travelling at, and whether all of those involved were wearing seatbelts, Mr Phillips said those will be issues considered during the investigation.
The Ambulance Service, which sent five ambulances to the scene, said it was astonishing a man and woman in one car involved were able to escape with minor injuries despite ‘extensive damage’ to their vehicle.
Three other cars collided as they tried to avoid the scene at the entrance to the underpass.
Of those people, two were taken to Heartlands Hospital with minor injuries.
The ambulance service said they dealt with 13 patients in total.
Taxi driver killed in crash ‘did everything’ for his six children
Relatives of tragic taxi driver Imtiaz Mohammed have described the father-of-six as the ‘most loving man’ they’d ever met.
They also revealed the 33-year-old was planning on becoming an immigration officer after leaving his job next month.
He leaves behind wife Nargas, 28, five daughters aged four, six, 13, 14 and 11 and a seven-year-old son.
One of Imtiaz’s three brothers, who declined to be named, said: ‘He was the most loving man that I have ever met.
‘Everything that he did, he did for his children. He adored them with all of his heart.’
Imtiaz Mohammed leaves behind a wife and six children following Sunday’s crash
The brother added: ‘He was a taxi driver to provide for them, because they were having financial difficulties.
‘He would work all through the night driving people around just to put food on the table.
‘One of his daughters is 14, and yet he treated her like she was a baby. That’s how much he adored and cared about them.
‘Another of his children is having her birthday today, she is turning four. Your heart goes out to her.
‘He was a family man, and a friend as well. Everyone that crossed his path said what a special person he was.
His brother said one of his children was due to celebrate her fourth birthday today
‘He wanted to quit being a taxi driver in January, so that he could try to get a job as an immigration officer. Before he was a taxi driver, he worked in manual handling.
‘It was something that he was excited about. Now, he will never get to realise his dream.
‘He is someone that would spend time with you, to him an hour of talking was just like five minutes.
‘As a driver, he was very good. He was very cautious, and would never exceed the speed limit.
‘We don’t want to speculate about how this happened, but he was always very careful behind the wheel.
‘We are all broken. He was the head of the house, and now the house has lost its voice.
‘I want to send out my condolences to the people in the back of the taxi and the others who have lost their lives.
‘They were innocent people, who were probably just trying to go home to their families too.’
Noor Khan, 26, his cousin, said: ‘He was very charming and bubbly, he would light up a room.
‘Just before he died, he phoned his wife to tell her that he was on his last job of the night. That’s how sudden it was.
‘It is tragic for his children, who will grow up without their father, but as a family we must all come together.’
Another cousin, who did not wish to be named, added: ‘He was the best father I have ever seen, he treated his children as well as he possibly could.
‘He was a much better father than I am, and we can all learn from him.
‘If ever you needed anything from him, he would always give it to you and then something extra. That’s the sort of man he was.
‘He was a very very good driver, so it’s hard to understand how this has happened to him.
‘All his life he lived in Birmingham, and a few years ago he moved to Small Heath from Quinton. He had been a taxi driver for around three years.’