The family of one of the five men killed in the A66 wrong-way collision have questioned the handling of the police pursuit that preceded the crash, claiming that "if it had been called off earlier lives might have been saved".
Seven dead in wrong-way collision
Seven people died in the incident near Middlesbrough in the early hours of Saturday when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on a dual carriageway collided with a marked police vehicle. The victims in the Passat were Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Michael Robert Cahill, 23, and Jacob Matusiak, both 23.
Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were also killed when their armed response vehicle was struck.
Family wants full picture
Jacob Matusiak's cousin told Sky News that the family "want answers" about the circumstances leading up to the crash and have asked police for the "full picture".
They said: "We are just devastated for everyone involved. If he was at fault, he was at fault, but they need to give us the full picture. He was no saint and has been involved in stuff before - we know that - but we cannot believe this has happened.
"We all want answers - we were told the chase should have been called off earlier. If it had been called off earlier lives might have been saved."
Tributes and memorials
Tributes for the five young men have been posted across social media, with numerous friends expressing that they "can't believe it" and were "heartbroken" and "lost for words". Balloon releases have been organised in their honour, with one taking place last night and further tributes planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at various locations, including South Bank.
One message, dedicated to all five, read: "We all knew use and knew use had hearts of gold and most loyalist lads."
A card and flowers left close to the crash site on the A66 read: "To my Coley, I love you so much. I'm so grateful for the time we got to spend together. I just cannot believe I will never see you again. I hope wherever you are it is everything you have ever dreamed of. I will never ever forget you. You would of done anything for anyone."
Pursuit details
The Passat in which the group were travelling was spotted by officers, and an armed response vehicle gave chase for just under seven minutes before the car turned on to the A66 in South Bank, driving against oncoming traffic.
Police called off the pursuit and continued along the correct side of the carriageway. The Passat collided with the vehicle belonging to Pc Blades and Pc Clough approximately 10 seconds after the chase was abandoned.
Police confirmed there was no evidence to suggest that footage recorded during the events of Friday night and Saturday morning was "for the purposes of TikTok".
