The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said officers had aborted the pursuit of a car believed to be using cloned plates seconds before it crashed into a different police vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough, killing seven people.
Five males aged between 17 and 23 years old were killed when a Volkswagen Passat, which was being driven on the wrong side of the dual carriageway at South Bank, collided with a marked armed response vehicle on the A66 in Teesside early on Saturday. Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak were pronounced dead at the scene.
Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, of Cleveland Police were also killed in the collision and had been driving in the correct direction.
Details of the pursuit
The incident was referred to the IOPC, which said on Sunday that 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. Cleveland Police had received intelligence relating to “numerous incidents” linked to a Passat, the watchdog said in its description of events.
The vehicle, containing the five occupants and believed to have been using cloned plates, was spotted. The plates had activated an ANPR camera, the IOPC added. An armed response vehicle started a pursuit that lasted just under seven minutes before the Passat drove on to the A66 in South Bank against the flow of traffic. Police aborted the chase and continued to travel on the correct side of the carriageway. The Passat crashed into Pc Blades and Pc Clough’s vehicle around 10 seconds after the pursuit ceased.
Watchdog statement and tributes
IOPC director of engagement Derrick Campbell paid his condolences to those affected, adding: “We recognise the devastating impact the incident has had on those in the force, and the wider policing community, and 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.”
Tributes and messages of support for the families of the five young men have poured in on social media, with many of their friends saying they “can’t believe it” and were “heartbroken” and “lost for words”. Balloon releases have been announced in their memory, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, at different locations including in South Bank.
Husband and father-of-two Pc Blades coached his eldest son in football and was looking forward to teaching his youngest for another squad. He had recently become a Seaton Carew FC coach and was preparing for his first turn teaching its under-sevens Seahawks team. “He was looking forward to being part of the team and, most importantly, to coaching his own son, who is going to be playing for the Seahawks this season,” the club said on social media. “Matty and his oldest son are much-loved members of our club and our U10 Lions football family.”
Meanwhile, FC Hartlepool described Pc Blades as a “much-loved member of our football family”. The club said: “As coach of our U10 Reds, a team that was made even more special by having his eldest son playing alongside the boys, Matty was so much more than a coach. He was a role model, a mentor, a friend, and someone the children looked up to and admired. He was able to share his love of football with his son while inspiring and supporting every child on the team.”
Community reaction
Anna Turley, MP for the Redcar constituency where the accident happened, on Sunday paid condolences to the deceased and said the “whole community is reeling here today”, describing Cleveland Police as a “close-knit” force. Cleveland police and crime commissioner Matt Storey echoed the sentiment, telling Sky News: “It is a small place, and the force is a really tight-knit family, really, and I think it will have a big impact on them.”
