Two men who died in a horror crash in Salford have been named.
Thomas Ashley and John Hughes were killed in a collision on Bolton Road in Pendlebury at around 6.55am on Sunday (July 12).
The crash involved two vehicles - a Renault Megane and a Mitsubishi Shogun.
On arrival, emergency services found that two men - the occupants of the Renault - had died as a result of their injuries.
The driver of the Mitsubishi, a man in his 60s, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. He remains there in a stable condition.
Bolton Coroner's Court confirmed the case had been referred to them and that the deceased have been identified as Thomas Ashley and John Hughes.
The pair are believed to have been friends.
Thomas' family have paid a heartfelt tribute to him, telling the M.E.N. he was 'adorable and lovable'.
His mum Trisha Hagerty said Thomas, 31, lived in Swinton with his girlfriend. He also had a little girl.
"Tom was adorable and lovable, everybody loved him", she added.
"He was a rogue but a lovable rouge.
"He had one brother and three sisters and was very close to his family. He was very close to his friends and loved going for a pint and a dance in a club.
"He is going to be missed by a lot of people."
Bolton Road was cordoned off by police on Sunday while emergency services carried out investigation work.
Enquiries into the incident remain ongoing and no arrests have been made, according to Greater Manchester Police.
In a statement on Sunday, PC Karl Horner of GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “This is an absolutely tragic incident, in which two people have very sadly lost their lives. Our thoughts are with their families at this unimaginably distressing and difficult time.
"Our thoughts also remain with the man who is receiving treatment in hospital – we hope he makes a recovery as soon as is possible. We have specially trained officers supporting those family members who have been affected.
“The investigation will be led by GMP’s Serious Investigation Unit, who specialise in investigating devastating incidents like this one. We hope that we can provide a measure of comfort to the distraught family members, by meticulously investigating the circumstances that led to two people losing their lives this morning."
The police are now launching an appeal for anyone with information to come forward.
“I would appeal directly to anyone who saw either vehicle in the lead up to the incident – do you have dash cam footage or any information that could assist us?
"I would urge you to get in touch as soon as possible, so we can further progress our investigation,” said PC Horner.
Anyone with information should contact GMP’s Serious Investigation Unit on 0161 856 4741, quoting incident number 923 of 12/07/20.
Reports can also be made anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
