Witness says Subaru Impreza was fitted with a nitrous oxide kit to make it go faster Crash scene: The crumpled wreckage of the Subaru ImprezaJeremy Selwyn
Three people have died after the car they were travelling in crashed into a lorry and burst into flames following a "high-speed race" on London's North Circular.
The men, all believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, died after their Subaru Impreza careered across the central reservation on the A406 Bowes Road near Arnos Grove at around 12.30am this morning.
It then hit a Warburtons' bread lorry travelling eastbound in the opposite direction before catching fire.
Two men in a Vauxhall Astra also involved in the crash were taken to hospital for treatment, while the lorry driver also suffered minor injuries.
Scotland Yard confirmed they are investigating reports of a “group of cars” travelling at high speed shortly before the accident.
According to the Evening Standard, one witness suggested the Impreza car was fitted with a nitrous oxide kit to make it go faster, in the style of cars in the Fast & Furious films series.
Marios Sofianou, 47, told the newspaper how he and his parents watched helplessly as the occupants of the car burned.
"We heard a big bang. There were at least two cars that were racing, three guys in one and I think one guy in the other car.
"Then the car on the outer lane hit the middle, flew over there and hit a lorry. One car came up here unharmed.
“The three over there we had to watch them burn, it was horrible.
Both lanes of the A406 remained cordoned off until around 8.30am.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said one of the men in the Astra was arrested in his hospital bed while a second was arrested after he was discharged.