Birmingham crash horror: Father-of-six named locally as first victim
A taxi driver, his two passengers and three men travelling in another car were all killed in the crash.
Six people have died and a seventh is critically injured after a huge crash in Birmingham.
Three men were killed when they were thrown out of their car while a black cab driver and his two passengers died after the vehicle was left on its side, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
A fourth man travelling in the car remains in a critical condition at the city's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The taxi driver, named locally as Imtiaz Mohammed, had six children all aged under 15 and was described by a cousin as "caring" and "hard-working".
One of his children had been due to celebrate their birthday on Monday.
Liaqat Ali, his cousin, said: "He was a very nice guy, caring and hard-working."
Mr Mohammed worked for local firm Castle Cars, which has offices both in Sandwell, West Midlands, and in Birmingham.
Debbie Ormsby, in a statement on behalf of the cab company, said: "Imtiaz was a wonderful young hard-working family man. "We were shocked and devastated to learn this morning that it was Imtiaz who lost his life in the serious road traffic collision which had been reported by our drivers in the early hours of Sunday.
"He was loved and respected by all who worked with him and he will be greatly missed.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and all the other families affected by this tragedy.''
The Ambulance Service, which sent five ambulances and three paramedics to the scene, said it was astonishing that a man and woman in the first 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 on Lee Bank Middleway, near Edgbaston, at the junction of Bristol Road shortly after 1am on Saturday.
Of those people, two were taken to Heartlands Hospital with minor injuries.
A spokesman for the ambulance service said: "This was an extremely complex and distressing crash scene that required excellent multi-agency teamwork.
"The ambulance service has already debriefed all of the staff involved and will be providing on-going support as required due to the nature of the incident."
There were three further cars involved which had tried to avoid the crash scene.
Ambulance staff did not see anyone from the first vehicle.
A man and a woman from the second vehicle suffered minor injuries and were taken by ambulance to Heartlands Hospital for further assessment.
There were two men in the third vehicle. One was discharged on scene after assessment; the other said he didn’t require any assistance.
Sgt Alan Hands from West Midlands Police's Collision Investigation Unit said: “We are currently dealing with a very serious collision and working with partner agencies to establish what caused this collision to happen.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies remain with the families of those who have very sadly lost their lives this morning and those who have been injured or caught up in this incident.”
West Midlands Fire Service said 40 firefighters helped in the aftermath of the "horrific" crash.
Area Commander Jason Campbell said: "The first West Midlands Fire Service crews arrived in less than four minutes and were met with a complex scene, spread over some distance.
"Our firefighters' actions involved stabilising vehicles, releasing the dead and injured, as well as administering CPR and first aid.
"All of the emergency services worked together and co-ordinated their response in extremely challenging circumstances, doing all they possibly could to minimise the loss of life."
The road remains closed this morning and is likely to be closed all day while officers make the scene safe. Motorists are asked to avoid the area as best they can.
Anyone who witnessed what happened is asked to call police on 101, quoting log 175 of December 17.
