Three teenage boys have died after a car ploughed into a bus stop.
Police were called to Shepiston Lane in Hayes at 8.41pm on Friday night following reports of a road traffic collision.
Despite the efforts of paramedics, all three boys were pronounced dead at the scene.
The victims have yet to be formally identified, but are believed to be approximately 16 years old.
A 28-year-old man who was inside the vehicle – a black Audi – has been arrested and was taken to a west London hospital for treatment.
Staff at the nearby Esso garage said a group of teenagers had been fighting at the entrance to the forecourt a few moments before the smash.
One cashier said the police had come to inspect CCTV footage of the brawl, but said he did not know if it was related to the crash.
“The police haven’t told us anything,” he said.
He said teenagers didn’t usually hang around in the area, which is just next to the M4, junction 4.
The member of staff said the garage’s CCTV did not stretch to the site of the collision.
It is believed the Audi mounted the pavement just outside the entrance and travelled a few metres down the road before colliding with a lamp post.
Floral tributes left near the scene in Shepiston Lane in Hayes (Tess De La Mare/PA)
Police have said that the incident is not being treated as terror related, and have urged anyone who may have witnessed the crash to come forward.
Other teenagers standing with the group at the bus stop were unharmed in the crash.
All of the next of kin of the deceased have been informed, the Met Police said.
The car is understood to have ploughed into a bus stop
Investigators have said they are still trying to establish the sequence of events that led up to the collision, and whether there were any other occupants in the vehicle.
The road was closed while the incident was investigated, but the closure has since been lifted.
Officers from the Met’s Road and Transport Policing command have urged anyone who may have witnessed the crash to come forward.
Police described the crash as horrific
Detective Jane Shaw, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “These are horrific circumstances that have resulted in three young people losing their lives; I need anyone who saw what happened to contact police immediately.
“Did you see this Audi before the collision, or in the moments leading it up to it? I would urge you to speak to us to assist us with our investigation.”