18-year-old Manchester City footballer Courtney Meppen-Walter has been taken into police custody on suspicion of causing death, following a deadly collision between the footballer’s Mercedes and a Nissan Micra on Bury New Road, leaving two people dead and two teenagers critically injured.

Ravel-Kaur Singh, 37, and her 32-year-old brother Kulwant Singh died instantly after the fatal crash occurred. While Ravel-Kaur Singh’s two sons – one a 16-year-old and the other a 17-year-old, who were in the back seat, sustained serious head injuries and are under medical observation at the Salford Royal Hospital.

A 19-year-old man, James Conroy, who was driving a Volkswagen Golf at the scene of the accident, was also arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. The 19-year-old is understood to have known Meppen-Walter.

The family, who are Sikhs, were returning home from a festival at the Gurdwara Sri Guru HarKrishan Sahib temple on Sherborne Street, near Strangeways, when accident occurred. The police are investigating whether the pair (Walter and Conroy), who are thought to be friends, were racing each other when the crash happened. Witnesses said the impact catapulted the Nissan Micra 50 yards down the road.

Kulwant Singh’s wife and two children, aged one and three, were at the temple when the smash happened. Mr Singh was driving his sister home before returning back for his own family. Witnesses said Meppen-Walter got out of his car shouting ‘it wasn’t me’.

The crash took place at 10.15 pm on Saturday. Fire crews and paramedics were summoned immediately, but Mr and Mrs Singh could not be saved after suffering head injuries. Both boys were rushed to hospital after being cut free from the mangled wreckage.

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