A car involved in a fatal crash which left four people dead was allegedly ‘souped up’ to nearly double the amount of its brake horsepower just a few months before the major collision.
Muhammad Danyaal, 19, Farhan Patel and Mohammed Jibrael Mukhtar, both aged 18, and taxi driver Masrob Ali, 54, all died after their two vehicles crashed in Bolton in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The three teenagers were inside a red Seat Leon when it collided with a Citroen C4 Picasso, which was being driven by Uber driver Masrob, on Wigan Road at around 12.45am.
Earlier today, footage revealed the Seat Leon allegedly reached 120mph on a residential road just 24 hours before the collision.
Now Metro has uncovered that a car – which seemingly matches the Seat – was modified in September, just four months before the crash.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
Footage published online by Narkos Performance Tuning shows a car, which has the same number plate and detailing as the Seat Leon, being modified to go up to 410 Brake Horsepower (BHP) and 550 Newton-metres (Nm) torque.
(Picture: Phil Taylor/SWNS)
This is almost double the average specifications of the model Cupra made in 2013 – which is when the vehicle was first registered – which are usually sold at 261 bhp and 350 Nm torque.
These modifications allow for more engine output and quicker acceleration behind every turn.
A picture seen by Metro also shows one of teenagers who was killed in the crash, Mohammed, standing with the ‘souped up’ vehicle.
Metro has cross-referenced the reg plate of the ‘souped up’ vehicle with the car Mohammed is standing next to and a photograph from the fatal scene, and they all appear to have the same number plate.
Metro has approached Narkos Performance Tuning for comment.
Masrob, who was described as ‘a safe driver; by his daughter, was driving a passenger at the time of the crash. Police said the passenger, a 29-year-old woman, suffered potentially life-threatening injuries and remains in hospital.
A 28-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man suffered serious injuries and a 29-year-old man has minor injuries.
An 18-year-old man, who was a passenger in the Seat, remains in hospital with minor injuries.
One local resident who saw the aftermath of the accident told The Bolton News: ‘I can’t believe it.
‘I heard the loudest bang and I saw them doing CPR on the person who was in the car accident.’
He added: ‘I seen the taxi driver’s passenger, a woman get out the taxi and there were two other people who was in the taxi unconscious.’
DI Andrew Page said the force was still working to establish what caused the ‘terrible’ crash.
He said: ‘As an investigation team we would encourage people to be mindful of sharing footage on social media given the impact this will have on all the families involved in such a tragic incident. Sharing such footage could constitute a criminal offence.
(Picture: SWNS)
‘Thanks to patrols in the area, teams were able to get to the incident location quickly to what was a particularly challenging scene for colleagues in the emergency services.
‘The scene closed on Sunday evening, but we are still appealing for any witnesses to come forward. Anyone who saw the vehicle driving before the collision, witnessed the incident itself, or has dashcam/ CCTV footage of the incident can share it with us.’
Chief Inspector Helen McCormick added: ‘This was a devastating incident for all those involved, none more so than the families of the deceased.
‘This was a particularly challenging scene for colleagues in the emergency services, and I want to thank first responders from our Bolton district and road policing unit of GMP, as well as the fire service and ambulance service, for all their hard work through the night and into today.’
She added: ‘This is a tragic reminder of the importance of safety on our roads across Greater Manchester and here in Bolton, where plenty of work has been done and continues to try and ensure our roads are safe for all.
‘We have massively reduced the number of serious and fatal collisions in Bolton. But we have all got much more to do.
‘One incident is one too many and this will do nothing to bring back the four lives affected. My thoughts are with everyone affected.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
