The daughter of a taxi driver who died in a head-on crash in Greater Manchester has has paid tribute to her father, calling him the “gentlest soul”.
Masrob Ali, 54, died after his Citroen C4 Picasso taxi collided with a red Seat Leon on Wigan Road in Bolton in the early hours of Sunday morning, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.
Three teenagers in the Seat also passed away.
On Monday, the trio – a driver and two passengers – were named by the force as Mohammed Jibrael Mukhtar, 18, Farhan Patel, 18, and Mohammed Danyaal, 19.
Ali’s daughter, Humayra Ali, 29, told BBC Manchester: “It’s absolutely devastating. We are all in shock – even in denial.
“I feel like it’s just a bad dream that I’m about to wake up from.
“He was just a really good man, anyone would say so.
“Anyone who has known him would say he’s a kind man, very generous, has a big heart.
“People have come back to tell me that he had the gentlest soul, he’s hard-working, and he was very hard-working right until his last breath.”
She added: “We are trying to expedite the process so that we can have the funeral as soon as possible.”
The Bolton Council of Mosques, who had on Sunday named the three teenagers, said in a statement that they were closely supporting the families of the victims.
Families are also being supported by specially-trained officers, GMP said.
Five passengers from both vehicles were injured and remain in hospital.
In the Citroen, a 29-year-old woman suffered potentially life-threatening injuries and a 28-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man suffered serious injuries. A 29-year-old man suffered minor injuries.
An 18-year-old man, who was also a passenger in the Seat, remains in hospital for treatment for minor injuries.
One woman who lives on Wigan Road said she was woken by a “loud bang” and looked from her bedroom window and saw “quite a bit of debris” on the road.
She also saw a red car that was “really damaged”.
A male resident did not see what happened but heard a “car accelerating”.
Footage from a nearby property posted online showed a head-on crash, before both cars and debris were sent flying in different directions.
Detective Inspector Andrew Page, of GMP’s serious collision investigation unit, said: “I want to thank first responders from our Bolton district and the road policing unit, alongside colleagues from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and the North West Ambulance Service, for their hard work since this incident.”
Local councillor Ayyub Patel said the “community is very saddened by the tragic news”, adding the authorities should be left to carry out their investigations.
Anyone with information or footage of the incident is asked to contact police on 0161 856 4741, quoting log number 111 of 11/01/2026, or anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
