Toronto police allege a teenage street race that went horribly wrong is behind a taxi driver's death.

According to police, two 18-year-olds were racing on Mount Pleasant Road in their parents' Mercedes-Benzes. The luxury cars allegedly hit speeds of up to 140 kilometres per hour in an area where the posted speed limit is 50 km/h.

The accident happened about 10:20 p.m. when one car collided with the cab as it made a left turn near an intersection with St. Clair Avenue. The collision crushed the taxi against a pole.

The driver of the vehicle involved in the crash ended up with a few scratches, while his friend fled the scene.

Tahir Khan, a cab driver and 46-year-old Pakistani man who has lived in Canada for six years, died instantly.

Wednesday, friends and other taxi drivers mourned the loss of Khan. He supported his wife and children, who still live in Pakistan.

"He was planning to go back to Pakistan pretty soon because he got the call from Pakistan that his mom was sick," Munir Ahmad, a friend, told CTV Toronto. "He was a very good guy, honest and hard-working."

Friends also said Khan, who lived in Scarborough with a friend, was set to receive Canadian citizenship on Jan. 27, at which time he planned to begin taking steps to bring his family over from Pakistan.

Alexander Ryazanov, 18, of Toronto, has been charged with criminal negligence causing death.

Wang-Piao Dumani Ross, 18, also of Toronto, is charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to stop after an accident causing death.

On Wednesday both men appeared in court, where bail hearings were scheduled for Friday and Monday. They are expected to remain in jail until the hearings.

CTV Toronto's Desmond Brown reported that the two young men charged in Khan's death come from a privileged upbringing. Both are graduates of the prestigious St. Andrew's College in Aurora.

Investigators found a copy of the video game Need For Speed in one of the cars. The game involves street racing, drag racing and pursuit racing, where players attempt to evade police.

The discovery prompted police to point out the difference between the digital world, and reality.

"A game is a game," Toronto Police's Det. Paul Lobsinger told CTV Toronto. "And when you get behind the wheel of a car it's not a game anymore. And when something tragic happens in a huge crash with a lot of smoke, there is no reset button. You can't start over with a new car and a new life."

In 2002, two Vancouver men were convicted of criminal negligence causing death after their street race left a woman dead. In what was described as a legal first, both drivers were convicted, even though only one of them hit the woman.

Before the Liberal government fell in November, it introduced legislation to curb the rising street racing problem. The new law would have required judges to revoke the licenence of anyone convicted of street racing.

The bill failed to pass into law before the government fell, however.