West London car crash: Three teenage boys killed after Audi slams into bus stop in Hayes

Teenagers believed to have been on way to 16th birthday party when car mounted pavement and ploughed into them

Three teenage boys have died after a car mounted a pavement and ploughed into a group of youths near a bus stop.

All three boys, named locally as Harry Rice, George Wilkinson and Josh Kennedy, were declared dead at the scene by paramedics after they were hit by the black Audi in Hayes, west London.

A 28-year-old man who was travelling in the car was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He was taken to hospital for treatment and will be taken into custody when he is discharged, said the Metropolitan Police.

Police are seeking a second man who they believe may have been travelling in the Audi before fleeing the scene.

The second male has yet to be apprehended and investigators have not ruled out more passengers being in the car.

The Met said in a statement: “Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the collision and the number of occupants in the vehicle involved.”

The force said the incident was not being treated as terror-related and issued urgent appeal for witnesses.

Detectives are also investigating “an altercation” that took place at a nearby Esso petrol station moments before the crash. The two incidents are “believed to be linked,” said a Scotland Yard spokesman.

The badly damaged black Audi car involved in the fatal collision in Hayes (PA)

Officers were called to Shepiston Lane at 8.41pm on Friday following reports of a road traffic collision.

Paramedics were also called to the scene but were unable to save the boys. They have yet to be formally identified but were named locally and in floral tributes as George and Josh and 16-year-old Harry Rice.

The next of kin of the boys, aged 16 and 17, killed have been been informed of their deaths, said police.

Other teenagers who had been standing in a group near the bus stop were unharmed.

Witnesses described seeing the victims’ distraught friends trying to help a lone paramedic unload equipment from a rapid response car before the ambulance arrived.

Staff at a five-a-side football centre on Shepiston Lane said they believed the group had been on their way to a 16th birthday party on the premises when they were hit.

An employee at Goals said the party had been cancelled following the tragedy.

Flowers and tributes have been left close to the bus stop. Damage to a railed fence and a wall could be seen following the crash. A picture taken by a witness showed the wrecked Audi in the road.

People leave floral tributes in Shepiston Lane, Hayes, where three teenage boys have died after a car ploughed into a bus stop (PA)

Tony Kitchin, 44, who works as security guard at a haulage firm nearby, said: “This road is busy 24-7. It’s a speed trap.

“I’m really surprised we haven’t had more horrific accidents like this.”

He added: “No parent should have to deal with that. My heartfelt sympathies go out to the family and friends of the people who lost their lives last night.”

Staff at the petrol station said police had come to inspect CCTV footage of “teenagers fighting” at the entrance to the forecourt .

The cashier said he did not know if it was related to the crash.

“The police haven’t told us anything,” he said.

He added teenagers did not usually hang around in the area, which is just next to junction 4 of the M4 motorway.

Damage at the scene of the crash (PA)

Jake Webb, 18, saw two white youths attacking an Asian man as he was driving towards Hayes and pulled over his car.

“I said, ‘Can you stop that, we’re going to call 999’,” he said. “They said, ‘Please call the police. He’s hit our friend’.”

Mr Webb’s friend, Amamdeep Matharoo, 27, said: “The lads were shouting on the phone. They were saying, ‘three of our friends are dead’. They were hysterical and in pieces.”

The road was closed while police investigated but has since reopened.

Officers from the Met’s Road and Transport Policing command have urged anyone who may have witnessed the crash to come forward.

Detective Jane Shaw, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “These are horrific circumstances that have resulted in three young people losing their lives; I need anyone who saw what happened to contact police immediately.

“Did you see this Audi before the collision, or in the moments leading it up to it? I would urge you to speak to us to assist us with our investigation.”