Birmingham car crash: Victim called wife to say he would be home soon minutes before fatal pile-up

A taxi driver killed in a “harrowing” crash in Birmingham phoned his wife to say he would be home soon minutes before the multiple-car pile-up in which six people died.

Father-of-six Imtiaz Mohammed, described by grieving relatives as a “happy, loving and friendly guy”, was on his last job of the night when the collision happened in the early hours of Sunday morning.

His two passengers, a man and a woman, also died in the crash which left his black cab on its side.

Three other men were killed when they were thrown out of their car in the six-vehicle pile-up. A fourth man travelling in the same car, thought to be an Audi S3, remains in a critical condition at the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

One of the men who died has been named locally as Tauqeer Hussain.

Mr Mohammed’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.

The 32-year-old said: “It was his last job of the night.

“He was going to come home – he rang his wife at 1am, and they were going to have something to eat.

“And then that was it. That was the last time they spoke.”

The 33-year-old’s devastated relatives spoke at the family home as police tried to discover how the crash came about.

His 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.

Older sister Nassrin Bibi paid tribute to her brother and said the family had been “shattered” by what had happened.

“It’s just so tragic and devastating, and there are no words really,” she added.

“We still don’t believe it. We still imagine he will be coming home, and then it hits again.”

Mr Mohammed’s brother added that he doted on his children and “spoilt them”.

“He would say, ‘The only thing I live for is my wife and family’,” he added.

Mr Mohammed worked for local firm Castle Cars, which said in a statement: “Imtiaz was a wonderful, young, hardworking family man”, who was “loved and respected by all”.

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

At the scene on Sunday night, three of the least damaged cars were removed as police continued to follow up various lines of investigation.

They are probing the speed of the vehicles involved, whether occupants were wearing seatbelts, and the condition of the road when the crash happened on Lee Bank Middleway, near Edgbaston, at the junction of Bristol Road.

Superintendent Sean Phillips, from West Midlands Police, told a press conference: “It is way too early to speculate on the causes of the accident.

“It will take some time to unpick the scene and just understand exactly what’s happened. It would be unfair for me to speculate at this time.”

He confirmed the road had been gritted at 5pm the previous evening.

West Midlands Ambulance Service, which sent five ambulances to the scene, said it was astonishing a man and woman in one car 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 treated 13 patients in total.