Newly emerged Ring doorbell footage has captured the final moments of a high-speed police pursuit through a residential neighbourhood, minutes before a head-on collision killed seven people, including two police officers.
The video shows a Volkswagen Passat travelling down Lime Road in Teesville, Middlesbrough, at 3.36am on Saturday. Two Cleveland Police cars follow seconds behind with blue lights flashing and sirens sounding. The pursuit, involving a third patrol car, began roughly a mile from where the crash occurred. Residents on the narrow, car-lined street were woken by screeching tyres as the vehicles sped past.
Residents describe the terrifying chase
Ellie Westerman, 24, said: "The car must have been travelling at between 80 and 100 mph down our narrow street. The noise woke me and I shot out of bed, you could feel the vibration in the house as the car went past and the police vehicles followed with their lights and sirens going."
Another resident said: "The screech of tyres woke me up, the car being followed must have taken the corner into our road at a tremendous speed." Neil Hutchinson, 47, added: "The police cars were tearing down the street at half past three with lights flashing and their sirens going. You could tell from the noise that they were travelling at high speed."
Head-on collision on the A66
At 3.39am, three minutes after the footage was recorded, the Passat drove onto the A66 in South Bank in the wrong direction. It collided head-on with a marked police car travelling the correct way. The hit vehicle was not involved in the original pursuit. All seven people across both vehicles were declared dead at the scene, including PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation due to the fatality following prior police contact. At 8.28am, police announced multiple fatalities, confirming the total toll of seven dead by 1.29pm.
Tributes and ongoing investigation
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller named the deceased officers, speaking about the "unimaginable loss": "First and foremost, our thoughts are with the families of everyone involved in today’s incident. No one should leave their home and not return safely, including police officers serving their communities and protecting the people of Cleveland."
She added: "This is an incredibly sad day for Cleveland. The loss has been felt across our communities, by our police family and by our partner agencies. These were brave officers protecting our communities and serving our residents who didn’t return home to their families at the end of their shift." The A66 remains closed between Normanby Road and Church Lane while investigations continue.
