Police name three teenagers and taxi driver killed in horror crash

Three teenagers and a taxi driver who died in a head-on crash have been named by police.

A red Seat Leon collided with a Citroen C4 Picasso taxi on Wigan Road in Bolton in the early hours of Sunday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

The driver and two passengers in the Seat have now been named by the force. They were Mohammed Jibrael Mukhtar, 18, Farhan Patel, 18, and 19-year-old Mohammed Danyaal.

The driver of the taxi, who was also killed, has been named as 54-year-old Masrob Ali.

The Bolton Council of Mosques (BCoM), who had on Sunday named the three teenagers, said in a statement that it is closely supporting the families of the victims.

Families are also being supported by specially-trained officers, GMP said.

Five passengers from both vehicles were injured and remain in hospital for treatment.

In the Citroen, a 29-year-old woman suffered potentially life-threatening injuries, GMP said, adding a 28-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man suffered serious injuries. A 29-year-old man suffered minor injuries.

An 18-year-old man, who was also a passenger in the Seat, remains in hospital for treatment for minor injuries.

One woman who lives on Wigan Road said she was woken by a “loud bang” and looked from her bedroom window and saw “quite a bit of debris” on the road.

She also saw a red car that was “really damaged”.

A male resident did not see what happened but heard a “car accelerating”.

Footage from a nearby property shared online showed a head-on crash, before both cars and debris were sent flying in different directions.

Detective Inspector Andrew Page, of GMP’s serious collision investigation unit, said: “I want to thank first responders from our Bolton district and the road policing unit, alongside colleagues from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and the North West Ambulance Service, for their hard work since this incident.”

Local councillor Ayyub Patel said the “community is very saddened by the tragic news”, saying the authorities should be left to carry out their investigations.