AN 18-year-old man killed in a crash on the A66 last night was friends with tragic Kyle Hull, the teenager who died after falling through a roof at Darlington Auction Mart.

Tyrone Singh, from Darlington, was driving a silver Hyundai Getz on the westbound carriageway when it left the road and collided with a nearside barrier near the Long Newton junction at 12.15am this morning.

It is understood Mr Singh, who only passed his driving test in January, worked as a car valeter.

The final post on Mr Singh's Facebook page was urging people to attend a memorial tonight for Kyle, who died on Sunday after suffering serious head injuries in a fall last Tuesday.

The gathering, at St Columba's Church, in Clifton Road, is to be followed by the lighting of candles and the release of lanterns in nearby South Park.

It now seems inevitable that it will become a memorial for both Kyle and Tyrone, who lived with his family in the Skerne Park area of Darlington.

Dale McPherson, who was a personal trainer of Mr Singh, described the budding strongman competitor as a "gentle giant".

A strongman competition, including a tug-of-war competition between Tyrone's family and friends, will be held at 3D Strength Gym, in Coleridge Gardens, on Sunday.

Mr McPherson said: “I’d been training him for a year – he’d just go to work and come to train.

“He’d started doing strong man competitions and his family train here – we wanted to come together and raise funds for them.

“We’ve been to see his mother and want to get some wreaths and put something towards the cost of the funeral.

“This community’s had three deaths in a couple of weeks – Kyle Hull was born here and Tyrone’s little brother Mitchell was his best friend.

“The community’s tense and we’re trying to bring everyone together.

“Tyrone was quiet, went to work, trained and was never any bother to anyone.

“The news came as a big shock round here and we’ll use this event to bring people together and stay strong for his family.

“We’re all friends at the gym and go out together, we’re like a big family and Tyrone was a big part of that – we called him the gentle giant.

“He was a really genuine lad and it’s a shame and a shock.

“We’re all friends here and can’t imagine what it’s like for the family and for Mitch, who also trains here.

“Our role is to be his big brothers now.  Tyrone is irreplaceable but we will do our best.”

Mr Singh, a former Hummersknott Academy pupil, attended Darlington College where he studied uniformed public services.

The accident was reported at 12.15am this morning by a member of the public.

Fire crews from Darlington and Cleveland brigades cut the man from the vehicle and he was taken by ambulance to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, where he later died of his injuries.

Police say it was a single-vehicle collision. An 18-year-old female passenger in the car was not injured in the incident.

Anyone who saw the car prior to the collision or witnessed the incident should call PC Paul Dixon, from the Cleveland and Durham specialist operation unit on 101, quoting reference CVP15-062038.