Birmingham car crash: What we know about collision that killed six people in underpass

Police are investigating the cause of a collision that killed six people including a taxi driver on his way home to his wife and six children.

Emergency services were called to reports of a serious crash in an underpass on Lee Bank Middleway, Birmingham, in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Three cars were involved in the collision at around 1.10am, with paramedics confirming five people dead at the scene.

A sixth victim died later in hospital and another remains in a serious condition after suffering severe injuries.

Two further people who were taken to hospital have since been discharged.

Three other cars travelling on the same stretch of dual carriageway crashed as they tried to avoid the fatal collision but none were seriously injured.

Superintendent Sean Phillips said: “Our thoughts remain with the families of these people who have lost those close to them so near to Christmas.

“The road remains closed and I would like to remind everyone to be respectful at this very, very tragic time.

“If anyone has any information on this harrowing incident, please call us on 101.”

The first victim to be named locally was Imtiaz Mohammed, a taxi driver who was on his way home to his wife and six children when he died.

The 33-year-old was described as a “happy, loving and friendly guy” by grieving relatives.

His younger brother Noorshad Mohammed, said he rang his wife Nargas Gul to tell her he would be coming home just before the crash.

“It was his last job of the night,” the 32-year-old added. “That was the last time she spoke to him.”

Surrounded by relatives at the family home, father Ikhtiar Mohammed recalled how his “heart sank” as police knocked on his door at 5am on Sunday morning.

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 was still in deep shock and relatives were struggling with how to break the news to the couple’s son and five daughters, all aged under 15.

One of their girls had been due to celebrate her fourth birthday on Monday.

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”.

Another of the victims who died was named locally by neighbours as Tauqeer Hussain, whose family declined to comment.

Mr Mohammed’s taxi was left on its side by the crash, while three men travelling in an Audi A3 died when they were thrown from the vehicle.

Police have not officially named those killed but confirmed a 33-year-old man, believed to be Mr Mohammed, a 42-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman were travelling in the taxi when they were killed in the crash.

Three men, aged 30, 26 and 25, who were travelling in the Audi also died.

A 22-year-old man who was in the same car remains in a serious condition in hospital and four others are being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The Ambulance Service said a man and woman in the first car were able to escape with minor wounds despite “extensive damage” to their vehicle.

All the victims are from the Birmingham area and specialist West Midlands Police officers are supporting their families.

The ambulance service said it dealt with 13 patients in total, including those from three vehicles involved in the secondary collision.

Sgt Alan Hands, from the force’s Collision Investigation Unit, said officers were working with partner agencies to establish what caused the collision.

“We are still keen to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and has not yet spoken to us,” he added.

“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.”

At a press conference on Sunday, Supt Phillips refused to answer questions on whether bad visibility, ice, lack of seatbelts or speed might have contributed to the crash.

“It is way too early to speculate on the causes of the accident,” he said. “It will take some time to unpick the scene and understand exactly what happened. It would be unfair for me to speculate.”

Police said they were looking into all avenues including the conditions of the road, which was gritted at around 5pm.

One of the vehicles involved had crossed the dual carriageway’s central reservation but investigators have not confirmed whether it was a cause or result of the crash.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Collision Investigation Unit on 101, quoting log 175 of 17/12, or email fl_collision_invest@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk.