Dilwar Shah Gardezi, 32, died when a car smashed into the driver's side of his taxi just before 5am on Saturday.

"He was just at his doorstop mate and we lost him," friend Imran Rana told Nine News on Saturday.

"We all loved him and he loved all of us,"

Mr Gardezi was attempting to turn right into Lorne Street in Fawkner before a car travelling on Sydney Road drove through the intersection and smashed into the car, police say.

Mr Gardezi's taxi was spun off the road, coming to a stop in a construction site.

Media reports suggest he was talking to his brother in Pakistan using his hands free phone when the two cars collided.

Friends gathered at the crash site on Saturday, were shocked at the sudden loss of their friend.

On social media, Mr Gardezi was being remembered as a kind person.

"He was very nice, polite and a very good friend," said Abu Baker Siddique on Facebook.

"It's very devastating and tragic."

Police are reviewing CCTV footage to determine if one of the drivers was at fault.

"What we are investigating is whether speed was a factor," Detective Sergeant Andrew Lawrence told Nine News.

The other driver, a 33-year-old woman from Oakleigh was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The crash takes Victoria's 2016 road toll to 158 compared to 139 at the corresponding time last year.