Two police officers and five young men killed in A66 wrong-way crash
Police officers PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died alongside five young men when a Volkswagen Passat travelling on the wrong side of the A66 collided with their marked Cleveland Police vehicle near South Bank, Middlesbrough.
The crash happened at about 3.39am on Saturday, 22 August. Cleveland Police said the Passat was travelling against the flow of traffic while the police vehicle was on the correct side of the dual carriageway. All seven people in the two vehicles were pronounced dead at the scene.
The five occupants of the Passat have been identified as Cole Robert Worthy and Theo Rae, both aged 17; Makai Saddington, 18; and Michael Robert Cahill and Jakub Matusiak, both 23. Specialist family liaison officers are supporting the relatives of all those who died.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the circumstances of the collision after Cleveland Police made a mandatory referral. The watchdog said its early inquiries indicated that officers had begun pursuing a suspicious vehicle before it entered the A66 in the wrong direction. The pursuit was then stopped, with the police vehicle involved in the fatal crash continuing on the correct side of the road.
The officers were not part of that pursuit but were in the area assisting with the search for the Passat, which police believe may have been using cloned number plates. The IOPC said the collision occurred around 10 seconds after the pursuit ended.
Cleveland Police has also launched a wider investigation into suspected serious and organised criminal activity linked to events before the crash. The force said it had received reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously, including a Volvo XC60 allegedly being used to ram properties. By 28 August, police said 24 people had been arrested in connection with the wider investigation, with some suspects arrested on allegations including participation in an organised crime group, possession of weapons, drug offences, criminal damage and threats to kill.
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller described PC Blades and PC Clough as brave officers who had been protecting and serving the communities of Cleveland. The force has urged people not to speculate while the IOPC investigation and the wider criminal inquiries continue.
Inquests into the deaths opened at Teesside Coroner’s Court on 27 August. Preliminary findings recorded fatal head and neck injuries, although the investigations into the circumstances of the crash remain ongoing.
