Schools in Middlesbrough are closing early on Friday as the funeral of A66 crash victim Jakub Matusiak is expected to draw large crowds to South Bank.
South Bank Primary School will shut at noon for what it said were safety and traffic concerns, while Archway Academy Teesville, Outwood Academy Normanby, St Margaret Clitherow’s Catholic Primary School and Mackenzie Thorpe School are also fully or partially closing.
The service for Mr Matusiak, 23, is due to take place at St John the Evangelist Church on Normanby Road. Crowds, motorbikes, quad bikes and off-road vehicles are expected in the area.
Tammy Cooper, head teacher of South Bank Primary, said the school anticipated “large numbers of people” and warned that the funeral would “inevitably cause congestion and transport disruption in the immediate area”.
She said the decision had been taken after considering the potential effect on pupils, staff and families leaving the school, adding that pastoral support would be available for children who felt “upset or anxious” about the funeral.
Concerns after previous memorial gatherings
The precautions follow disorder at earlier gatherings held in memory of the five young men who died in the crash on 22 August.
At a memorial for Mr Matusiak in South Bank last month, fireworks were set off and orange balloons were released, while police said vehicles and motorbikes were present. A separate gathering for Michael Cahill in Haswell, County Durham, was followed by cars being set alight.
Messages shared on social media urged mourners to bring “as many bikes quads jeeps anything”, raising concerns that the funeral could cause further disruption or disorder.
Mr Matusiak was one of five occupants of a Volkswagen Passat who died when it collided with a marked Cleveland Police vehicle on the A66. Also killed were Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Mr Cahill, 23.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were travelling in the police vehicle, also died in the collision. Cleveland Police said the Passat was travelling against the flow of traffic, while the officers’ vehicle was on the correct side of the carriageway. ([cleveland.police.uk](https://www.cleveland.police.uk/news/cleveland/news/2026/august/occupants-of-the-vw-killed-in-a66-collision-named/?utm_source=openai))
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said its initial investigation found that an armed response vehicle had pursued the Passat for just under seven minutes before the pursuit was abandoned when the car entered the A66 in the wrong direction. The fatal collision occurred about ten seconds later with another police vehicle that had been assisting the search. ([policeconduct.gov.uk](https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/update-iopc-investigation-following-fatal-road-collision-middlesbrough?utm_source=openai))
Cleveland Police has described the wider investigation as being linked to serious and organised crime. The force said on 31 August that 27 people had been arrested since enquiries began into events surrounding the crash. ([cleveland.police.uk](https://www.cleveland.police.uk/news/cleveland/news/2026/august/further-three-arrests-related-to-serious-and-organised-crime/?utm_source=openai))
More than 200 officers from other forces have been brought in to support the operation, while the police investigation and the IOPC inquiry continue.
An appeal for the families of PC Blades and PC Clough has raised more than £1.2 million. Organisers said the money would be divided equally between the two families, with the Police Federation continuing to provide support.
