Five young men killed in a Volkswagen Passat after a collision with a police vehicle on the A66 were identified through fingerprint analysis, an inquest has heard.
Teesside Coroner's Court opened inquests into the deaths of Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Michael Robert Cahill and Jakub Matusiak, both 23. Police had named Mr Matusiak as Jacob.
Collision details
Paul Appleton, area coroner for Teesside and Hartlepool, said there was a collision on the A66 in South Bank between a police vehicle and a Volkswagen Passat in the early hours of August 22. He told the hearing that "all occupants of both vehicles were sadly pronounced dead at the scene".
In separate hearings, Mr Appleton said the young males were identified through fingerprint analysis. The causes of death were described as neck injuries for Mr Matusiak, head and torso injuries for Mr Cahill, head injuries for Mr Saddington and Mr Rae, and head and chest injuries for Mr Worthy.
Police officers' inquests
Earlier in the day, inquests were opened into the deaths of the police officers who died in the crash. Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, died in a head-on collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough on Saturday (August 22).
In consecutive hearings, coroner Paul Appleton said Pc Blades was identified by his wife, and Pc Clough by his partner. The provisional cause of death was said to be head and neck injuries for Pc Blades, and neck injuries for Pc Clough.
Mr Appleton said that in the early hours of August 22 there was a collision on the A66 at South Bank between a police vehicle and a Volkswagen Passat. He told the hearing that "all occupants of both vehicles were sadly pronounced dead at the scene".
Mr Appleton said: "At this stage it is understood that there had been a police pursuit of the Volkswagen Passat. It entered the A66 carriageway against the flow of traffic, at which stage the pursuit was aborted.
"A short time after … the Volkswagen Passat collided with a police vehicle, which had not been directly involved in the prior pursuit."
Tributes
Tributes to the two officers killed in the dual carriageway crash have described them as a devoted father and football coach, and a fantastic former soldier who fought proudly for his country.
Pc Blades, 37, was a married father-of-two and dedicated football coach in his spare time. He had recently joined Seaton Carew FC as a coach and was looking forward to teaching his son in its under-sevens Seahawks squad, the club said.
