The taxi driver killed in a crash in Birmingham that claimed six lives called his wife to say he was on his last job and would soon be heading home.
Father-of-six Imtiaz Mohammed – described as a very nice guy, caring and hard-working died in the early hours of Sunday in the horrific crash.
The 33-year-old’s passengers, a man and a woman, were also killed as the cab ended up on its side at the entrance to the underpass on Lee Bank Middleway near the city centre.
Three men were also killed after being thrown from their car during the crash shortly before 1am.
A fourth man travelling in the vehicle, believed to be an Audi S3, remains critical in hospital.
Noorshad Mohammed, 32, said his brother had called his wife just before the crash: It was his last job of the night… That was the last time she spoke to him.
Mr Mohammed’s father, Ikhtiar, described how his heart sank when police knocked at his door at 5am.
“I knew there was something wrong, as soon as I saw them,” he said.
“I thought to myself, ‘which of my sons is hurt’, I just knew something was seriously wrong.”
He said Imtiaz’s wife was still in shock – the couple have five daughters and son, all aged under 15. One daughter was due to celebrate her fourth birthday on Monday.
The taxi driver worked for Castle Cars, based in Sandwell and Birmingham.
Debbie Ormsby, in a statement on behalf of the firm, said: “Imtiaz was a wonderful young hard-working family man… He was loved and respected by all who worked with him and he will be greatly missed.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for his family.
One of the men who died in the other car has been named by his neighbours as Tauqeer Hussain. His family has declined to comment.
Police were still investigating the mangled remains of the car and the people-carrier-type taxi on Sunday evening.
Three other cars also collided as they tried to avoid the original crash.
Miraculously, a man a woman in one of the cars escaped with relatively minor injuries.
West Midlands Ambulance Service, which sent five ambulances and three paramedics, described the scene as “extensive and extremely complex”.
Paramedics dealt with 13 patients in total, and the Fire Service said 40 firefighters had helped in the aftermath of the “horrific” crash.
Superintendent Sean Phillips said it was “way too early” to speculate on the reason for the crash.
He said the speed of the vehicles and whether all those involved were wearing seatbelts would be investigated.