A 19-YEAR-OLD man died after his car collided head-on with a taxi in Burnley.

Two women and a second man, all from Burnley, also suffered serious injuries in the incident which happened on Manchester Road.

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Police said a silver Ford Mondeo collided with a black cab around a quarter of a mile down from the junction with Rossendale Road at 1am on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses said the Mondeo was travelling down the hill from the Rossendale Road junction and the taxi was going up the hill.

The driver of the Mondeo, who police said was from St Helens, was pronounced dead at the scene. Next of kin were being informed over the weekend.

The driver of the taxi, a 48 year old man, sustained serious injuries to his chest and legs and was taken to Royal Preston Hospital. It is believed he was cut out of his vehicle by firefighters.

The two passengers in the taxi, two women aged 58 and 38, received head injuries. Police said their injuries were serious but not thought to be critical.

Eyewitness Neil Stansfield, a 28-year-old youth director and worker from Manchester Road, said: “My wife said it sounded like a missile. She said she heard the car coming down the hill and then a loud bang. She went to the window and woke me up. I saw the wreckage. The black car was completely destroyed at the front.

“It’s tragic. My thoughts are with the deceased man’s family.”

A second eyewitness said: “The Mondeo was coming down the road and the taxi was travelling up the road. They hit on the central reservation. It was tragic.

“The police were working on the guy for three quarters of an hour. My thoughts are with his family.”

Rosehill with Burnley Wood ward councillor Paul Campbell said: “I don’t know the full circumstances of the crash but speed has previously been a problem along Manchester Road.

“It’s tragic. My thoughts are with the young’s man’s family. I also can’t imaging what the two women and the taxi driver are going through, and I hope they all make a full and speedy recovery.”

A police spokesman said it was too early to say how and why the collision happened.

Sgt Malcolm Bell, from the Road Policing Unit, said: “An investigation into how this collision occurred is underway and I would urge anyone with any information about what happened to contact us.”

A Toyota Yaris, which was parked and unattended at the time, was also damaged in the collision.

The road was closed until 6.30am whilst accident investigation work was carried out.

Anyone with information can contact police on 101 quoting log number 81 of 7th November.