Two best friends who died alongside a computer science student were racing around a retail park in a convertible before hitting a hedge and crashing down an embankment, a witness has claimed.
Sohail Zulfiqar, 20, and Mohamad Zeidani, 22, along with his long-time friend Mohammed Ghazzi, also 22, were killed in the horror car crash near Staples Corner in Brent Cross at the weekend.
Five people, all believed to be in their early 20s, were in the Mercedes CLK convertible when it ploughed into trees at 11.26pm on Sunday.
Officers believe that a number of cars were in the car park. Enquires are ongoing to establish what happened and to trace everyone who was in the car park at the time of the incident.
A local shop owner said teenagers regularly 'race around' the car park and said the boys made 'several laps' of the circuit.
Mr Ghazzi, Mr Zeidani and Mr Zulfiqar had been travelling with two other friends and were returning home after going to the gym in a nearby Retail Park.
A family friend of Mr Zeidani's father said he is 'devastated' and his 'heart has been broken'.
Mr Zulfiqar, a 20-year-old computer science student at Brunel University in Uxbridge, was just 10 days away from celebrating his 21st birthday, his brother said.
Sohail Zulfiqar (pictured), a 20-year-old computer science student at Brunel University in Uxbridge, was just 10 days away from celebrating his 21st birthday, his brother said
Mr Zulfiqar's younger brother said today: 'My brother was the most generous person and he was the strongest person I know'. Pictured is Sohail
Royal Holloway student Mohamad Emad Zeidani, 22, (pictured) was one of the three men killed
Mohammed Ghazzi, 22, was also killed in the horror car crash near Staples Corner in Brent Cross at the weekend
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The car can be seen in the bushes next to the road in west London today after the incident
Police officers stand beside a vehicle in the undergrowth at the scene at Staples Corner today
Damage to the undergrowth after a vehicle involved in the accident was removed today
Police confirmed that three men died, while another is in a critical condition.
A fifth man sustained injuries not deemed to be life-threatening, in what police described as a 'terrible accident'. No arrests have been made.
Mr Zulfiqar, a 20-year-old computer science student at Brunel University in Uxbridge, was also killed in the crash.
His younger brother, Shaan, said today: 'My brother was the most generous person and he was the strongest person I know.
'He was in his second year at university and was going to turn 21 in ten days time.
'Everybody loved him, he was just the best person you could meet. If you needed anything, he'd always help you.'
A friend of the boys, who only gave his name as Nabil, said: 'They were lovely boys who'd been friends since childhood.
'They did everything together and went to the same university. They were both very intelligent.'
The boys had been returning from The Gym Group, which is open 24-hours a day.
Another friend at the scene, who asked not to be named, said the man who escaped serious harm did so because he was flung clear of the vehicle before it crashed.
He said: 'We don't know how this accident happened. We have no answers. The families are waiting for answers from the police. We need more information.
'Three of the friends died instantly and the two others were rushed to hospital. One of them is in a very bad way.
Emergency services at the scene where three people have died and another has been left critically injured in a car crash near the Staples Corner retail park
Fire crew pictured at the scene of the fatal car collision on Monday morning
The London Fire Brigade at the scene near Staples Corner in Brent Cross this morning
'The man who was less seriously injured was somehow thrown from the car. I don't know if that was after the car dropped down from the bank or he threw himself out.'
The friend said he knew Mr Zeidani's father, who is originally from Lebanon.
He added: 'He is devastated. You cannot even talk to him at the moment. His heart has been broken.'
A retail worker who had viewed CCTV of the incident told MailOnline: 'You can see the car making several laps of the retail park car park over a period of about half an hour.
'The car was a soft top and had the top down. You can see it whizz past the shop on the wrong side of the car park's one-way system before it hits the hedge at speed.
'You have to slow it down in order to see the car go past. I think the driver was going pretty fast.
'Young men regularly meet in this car park and race around it. It's a fairly regular thing but on this occasion, it's ended in tragedy.'
Police confirmed that three men died. Pictured: Staples Corner retail park
Five people, all believed to be in their early 20s, were in the vehicle when it ploughed into trees near Staples Corner in Brent Cross at 11.26pm on Sunday (scene pictured)
Emergency services were responding to the fatal crash on Sunday evening
Police traffic investigators pictured at the scene of the crash on Monday morning
Officers retrieved the wreckage of the silver-coloured vehicle, which was removed on Monday morning from the Staples Corner roundabout.
A local garage owner told the Evening Standard: 'I turned up for work this morning and there were police everywhere. It was carnage. There was blood in the road, it was horrific.'
Inspector William Mcdonald, one of the officers responsible for policing Barnet, said: 'Emergency services responded last night to what seems to have been a terrible accident.
'An urgent police investigation is under way to establish the full circumstances, led by detectives from the Met's Serious Collision Investigation Unit.
'Officers are in the process of informing the families of the five young people. The families will be supported by specialist officers. I send them my sincere condolences.'
The recovery process was extremely complicated which led to extensive road closures but all roads have now reopened. No arrests have been made at this time.