SHOCKING footage of what ­appears to be a street race shows two cars driving side by side at high speed in Western Sydney moments ­before one of them smashes into a power pole, killing two of its three occupants.

The Toyota Camry was crushed beyond recognition and almost ripped in half.

Fahim Rahman Aunik and Saqlaen Utsha, both 20-year-old students from Bangladesh, were killed instantly. A third man, also 20, was last night fighting for life at St George Hospital.

media_camera Fahim Rahman Aunik, 20, died after the car he was driving crashed into a power pole.

media_camera Saqlaen Utsha, 20, also died in the crash. He was the front passenger in the vehicle.

Police impounded the other car, a white Nissan Skyline, after the crash on Canterbury Rd, Belmore, early yesterday.

Footage from a nearby store shows the Camry cross in front of the Skyline as the driver loses control. He then overcorrected the skid and slammed into the pole.

Police and emergency services rushed to the scene, where 10 men worked to free the three men trapped inside the vehicle.

A clearly distraught Ahshanul Fakhru was driving the Skyline when his friends crashed into the pole about 3.40am. He denied they had been street racing.

“I was driving about 60 or 70km/h. I don’t know how fast he was going. I think he had some problems with his car,” he said.

“It is very sad. It is hard to talk about. We were driving, with three cars. He lost control somehow and he was behind me and I heard him sliding on the road. Then suddenly, in a second, (I heard) a big boom.

“He was lying on the road. I stopped. I turned around.”

media_camera CCTV appears to show the car travelling at excessive speed before crashing into the pole. Picture: Supplied

media_camera Emergency crews work to free the three men from the car wreck. Picture: Bill Hearne

But police have indicated that speed was definitely a factor, and Mr Fakhru’s car was seized as evidence in the investigation.

Superintendent Stuart Smith from the traffic and highway command said “the vehicle basically disintegrated when it hit the power pole”, indicating a high speed on impact.

He said they were investigating whether the three cars were street racing at the time.

Police were in the process of informing the dead men’s families, who are believed to be based in Bangladesh.

media_camera The mangled wreck of the Toyota Camry after it struck a pole in Belmore, killing one man and injuring two others. Picture: John Grainger

media_camera Friends of the group were travelling in another car nearby and witnessed the collision. Picture: Bill Hearne

A large group of the victims’ friends gathered at the scene of the deadly crash near the corner of Victory St and Canterbury Rd.

Rafi Mdkamrul, 22, said the three men were “like my brothers — we spend a lot of time together. It is really hard. My whole body is shaking.

“When I heard the news I thought it was a normal crash. But the car was like in half. There is not even 40 per cent of it left.”

Mr Mdkamrul denied that his friends would have been involved in racing.

“No one does these kind of ­stupid things. Accidents happen in moments. If there is something wrong with the car it just goes off,” he said.

media_camera Police are looking into the possibility the car was involved in street racing at the time of the crash. Picture: John Grainger

media_camera Friends of those involved in the crash watch on and wait to speak with police. Picture: John Grainger media_camera Some of the friends were travelling in another car and witnessed the crash. Picture: John Grainger

media_camera Police have been examining this vehicle as they look at the possibility of street racing. Picture: John Grainger

media_camera Police speak with the distraught friend of one of the men. Picture: Bill Hearne

media_camera One of the men is loaded into an ambulance in a critical condition. Picture: Bill Hearne

Originally published as Young lives lost in ‘road race’ madness