A taxi driver killed in a crash at Fawkner early this morning was talking on his phone to his brother in Pakistan when the accident happened.
About 20 tearful friends of Taxi driver Dilwar Shah Gardezi, known as Shah, gathered in Fawkner near the badly-damaged taxi.
“He was due to get married soon,” said childhood friend Imran Rana.
Shah was studying automotive engineering and had been in Australia about six years, driving taxis most of that time.
Mr Rana said he was a very calm and cautious driver and would have been using his hands-free phone.
He said his brother in Pakistan heard the impact.
Shah had been turning right into Lorne St, where he lived when a red Hyundai Accent travelling straight along Sydney Rd collided with the passenger side of his Toyota Camry.
Major collision investigators remain at the scene.
Detective Sergeant Andrew Lawrence said the Hyundai’s female driver was taken to hospital but was not badly hurt.
It was too soon to say what caused the crash, but earlier police said it appeared a car crashed into the back of another car stopped at an intersection.
“Officers have been told a sedan was stopped at the intersection of Sydney Road and Lorne Street around 4.55am this morning,” said Leading Senior Constable Adam West.
A southbound car had crashed into the back of that stationary car and pushed it into a house under construction.
Detective Sgt Lawrence called for a male witness who had spoken to her soon afterwards to come forward.
CCTV and the taxi’s recorded footage should help determine what happened.
Sydney Rd’s city bound lanes remain closed at the scene with traffic diverted.