The family of a 21-year-old who died when his car crashed into a wall just yards from his home, have paid tribute to the student who was “always putting others before himself”.

Suleman Khan was driving home alone in the early hours of Friday after seeing a friend, when his silver Ford Focus collided with a wall at the junction of Cranbrook Road and Kenwood Gardens, Gants Hill.

He died a few hours later at hospital.

Respected

Speaking outside the family home in Little Gearies, just around the corner from the scene of the crash, his 18-year-old brother said Suleman, in his final year at Kingston University, was well known and well liked in the area.

“He had quite a lot of plans. He wanted to start his own business,” he said.

“He was a well respected guy, known for being quite chatty. A lot of people around here knew him. They’ve all said he was always putting people before himself.”

Suleman’s uncle, 52-year-old Anwar Khan, added: “He was very intelligent, very sharp, everyone knew him.”

Dozens of floral tributes have been left at the site of the crash, hiding the badly damaged wall.

‘Loud bang’

Across the road from the incident, which happened at about 2.30am, 30-year-old Aisha Bibi described hearing the crash from her Temple Court flat.

She said she was feeding her three-month-old daughter when she heard “a loud bang”.

“I thought a bus had broken down, then I saw the car in a really, really bad state,” she said.

“Then the police came and they obviously cordoned off the road and they said you’ve got to get back.”

Officers from Scotland Yard’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit are looking into the incident.

Contact them on 020 8597 4874 with any information.