Seven people, including two police officers, were killed in a head-on crash on the A66 in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way along the dual-carriageway collided with a marked Cleveland Police vehicle at about 3.39am on Saturday. The police watchdog has revealed officers abandoned their pursuit of the Passat just 10 seconds before the collision.
Victims and initial details
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed alongside all five men travelling in the Passat: Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jakub Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed the car was believed to be using cloned registration plates which had activated an ANPR camera and had also been linked to numerous incidents. The IOPC launched an independent investigation following a mandatory referral from Cleveland Police and has begun piecing together the final minutes before the crash.
Three key questions remain unanswered
Exactly what prompted officers to begin pursuing the car in the early hours of Saturday - and the full chain of events that led to the devastating collision - has not yet been made public. Here are three key questions surrounding the tragedy which remain unanswered.
What specifically triggered the pursuit of the Passat - and why had officers marked it as suspicious?
The IOPC has confirmed an armed response vehicle began pursuing the Passat after officers received intelligence concerning “numerous incidents” linked to it alongside the car being believed to be using cloned registration plates. But investigators have not publicly detailed what those “numerous incidents” were, when they happened or exactly what information prompted officers to begin the pursuit. It is also not yet clear whether the ANPR activation itself led to the chase or formed part of wider intelligence police already held about the vehicle.
It has emerged that at least one of the five killed had previously posted videos of himself recklessly speeding. One clip filmed in May by a passenger showed 18-year-old Saddington involved in another police car as he drove through a housing estate. The same vehicle is seen racing across a field in an apparent attempt to shake off the pursuers. Another video on an account associated with him shows a green Nissan being driven around before being set alight. Separate images posted elsewhere show him and a friend posing in cars wearing black balaclavas.
The IOPC said: “Analysis of the police vehicle in car footage shows the pursuit lasted just under seven minutes before the Passat travelled onto the A66 in South Bank, against the flow of traffic, at which point the pursuit was aborted by officers and they continued to travel on the correct side of the carriageway. “A short time after the pursuit ended, approximately 10 seconds later, the Passat collided with another police vehicle which was not involved in the pursuit but in the area to assist in a search for the Passat, believed to be using cloned plates that had activated an ANPR camera.”
Where exactly did the Passat travel during the seven-minute pursuit?
The pursuit lasted just under seven minutes with footage captured on a Ring doorbell showed the vehicle being driven at high speed just minutes before the fatal crash, while the Passat was also being pursued by police. But the pursuit came to a halt after the vehicle turned onto the A66 and began driving on the wrong side of the road, prompting officers to abandon the chase.
Around 10 seconds later, the car collided with the marked police vehicle, which was travelling on the correct side of the dual carriageway and was in the area to assist with the search. However, investigators have not yet publicly set out the full route taken by the Passat during those seven minutes with precise starting point of the pursuit and the streets it travelled along before reaching the A66 also remain unclear.
What exactly were PC Blades and PC Clough doing on the A66?
The IOPC has confirmed PC Blades and PC Clough were not travelling in the police vehicle which had been pursuing the Passat. But confirmed their marked police vehicle was instead “in the area to assist in a search for the Passat” when the collision happened. But exactly what the two officers had been tasked with doing and how they came to be on that stretch of the A66 at the same moment as the Passat has not yet been publicly explained.
The IOPC has begun gathering evidence to establish the full circumstances surrounding the crash. Investigators have obtained accounts from officers involved in the pursuit, as well as the incident log and footage from inside the police vehicle, while work continues to gather further material.
Derrick Campbell, IOPC director of engagement, said: “Our thoughts continue to be with the family and friends and all those affected by yesterday’s collision. We recognise the devastating impact this incident has had on those in the force, the wider policing community, and the local community, and we offer our condolences. “We have obtained initial accounts of officers involved in the pursuit, the incident log and in car footage of the incident. Work is ongoing to obtain additional material. “IOPC investigators will continue to review and analyse all the evidence that is available to us. We will not be providing any further comment at this time.”
