An inquest opening has heard how two police officers died from head and neck injuries after their van was hit by a car driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway.
Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were both killed in the incident on Saturday on the A66 near Middlesbrough. On Thursday inquests into their deaths were opened and adjourned at Teesside Coroner’s Court.
Identification and provisional causes of death
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.
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".
Pursuit details and further inquests
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."
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.
