Police had aborted a pursuit seconds before a fatal crash that killed seven people, according to the latest police reports. The Volkswagen Passat involved in the deadly collision is also believed to have been using “cloned plates”.
Fatal Collision on the A66
The tragic collision, which followed a high-speed pursuit between police and a vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough, saw a Volkswagen Passat collide with a different police car not involved in the chase. All five passengers in the Volkswagen and two police officers died.
The five passengers inside the Volkswagen Passat have been named as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18. Two serving Cleveland Police officers, named as PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, were also killed in the crash.
Pursuit Details and Aborted Chase
A police statement read: “Our initial enquiries have established Cleveland Police received intelligence regarding numerous incidents that were linked to a Volkswagen Passat. The Passat, which contained five male occupants, was later sighted and an armed response vehicle began a pursuit of the vehicle.
“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.
“It has been confirmed that following the collision at 3.39am, seven people sadly died. As reported yesterday, they included two Cleveland Police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough. We can also confirm the five occupants in the Passat who died were Michael Cahill, Theo Rae, Cole Worthy, Jacob Matusiak and Makai Saddington.”
Investigation Underway
IOPC Director of Engagement Derrick Campbell said: “Our thoughts continue to be with the family and friends and all those affected by yesterday’s collision. 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.
“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.”
