Police called off a pursuit seconds before a car drove the wrong way on the A66 and collided with a police vehicle, killing seven people, investigators said. Five men inside the Volkswagen Passat — Michael Robert Cahill, 23; Jacob Matusiak, 23; Theo Rae, 17; Makai Saddington, 18; and Cole Robert Worthy, 17 — died in the crash.
Two Cleveland Police officers also died: PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38. The officers were on the correct side of the carriageway and were in the area to assist in a search for the vehicle when the collision occurred.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the force had been pursuing the Passat after reports of “numerous incidents” connected to the car. The vehicle is believed to have been using cloned registration plates that triggered an ANPR camera.
Analysis of footage from one police vehicle showed the pursuit lasted just under seven minutes. The IOPC said that when the Passat moved onto the wrong side of the A66, officers abandoned the chase. The pursuing officers remained on the correct side, but roughly 10 seconds later, at about 03:39 BST, the Passat struck the vehicle carrying PC Blades and PC Clough.
The IOPC launched an immediate investigation into the circumstances. Security camera footage from a house on Lime Road in Middlesbrough appears to show police vehicles pursuing the car about three minutes before the collision.
