Two police officers died as a result of head and neck injuries after their marked vehicle was hit by a car travelling the wrong way down the A66, an inquest opening has heard. PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died in a head-on collision on the A66 in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, on Saturday.
On Thursday, inquests into their deaths were opened and adjourned at Teesside Coroner’s Court. In short, 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.
Collision details
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.”
Inquests into the five others
In the afternoon, inquests will open into the deaths of Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak – who were in the Passat and pronounced dead at the scene.
Cleveland Police have arrested a total of 17 people following the fatal crash. On Tuesday, the force said it had arrested five more people with the assistance of the National Crime Agency and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit.
The force said they were a boy aged 16, an 18-year-old and a man of 21, all on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group; a 55-year-old on suspicion of assisting an offender and a 23-year-old on suspicion of making threats to kill.
Court appearances and fundraising
Cleveland Police said two of the 12 people previously arrested have now appeared in court following the horrific crash near Middlesbrough in the early hours of Saturday. Kai Beattie, 19, of Foxrush Court, Redcar, appeared before Teesside Magistrates’ Court charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Cameron George, 26, of Micklow Close, Redcar, was remanded in custody to appear at Teesside Crown Court on September 21, charged with drugs offences and possession of criminal property.
Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox, responsible for the strategic leadership of the investigation, said: “This has been a fast-moving and complex investigation, with significant links to serious and organised criminal activity.” He went on to say: “We have a duty to respond to, and thoroughly investigate, the serious criminal activity that resulted in this fatal incident, and to bring all those responsible to justice.”
More than £1million has been raised for the families of the two police officers who were killed. A fundraiser created by the Cleveland Police Federation said funds raised would be split equally between the two officers’ families and the federation would continue to provide support.
Cleveland Police launched the chase after receiving intelligence relating to “numerous incidents” linked to a Passat, which activated an ANPR camera and is believed to have been using cloned plates, investigating watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct said. PC Blades and PC Clough were not involved in the original pursuit, but had been called to the area to assist with the search for the Passat.
Family members described former Civil Nuclear Constabulary officer PC Clough as “our hero” who was “always on public duty”. In a statement issued by Cleveland Police, PC Blades’ wife called him “my beloved husband, my best friend, and the most devoted father to our two young boys”. Tributes for the five young men were also shared on social media, with many of their friends saying they “can’t believe it” and were “heartbroken” and “lost for words”.
