Sky News paused its regular programming for a breaking news update on the fatal A66 crash near Middlesbrough, which claimed seven lives, including two police officers. The channel revealed that nine men and three women have been detained following the collision.
Details of the incident
The crash occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, August 22, involving a police vehicle and a Volkswagen Passat on the A66 in South Bank, near Middlesbrough. All seven people in both vehicles died in the collision.
News correspondent Shingi Mararike, broadcasting live from the scene, reported a significant update from Cleveland Police. He said: "We've just had a significant update now from Cleveland Police around the fact that there was another vehicle that was also involved in the incident over the weekend, as well as the other arrests made, so let me walk you through some of that detail."
Investigation and arrests
Cleveland Police have launched a wide-scale investigation into criminality that took place prior to the fatal crash. Officers received several reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously. The first vehicle is believed to be a Volvo X60, which was witnessed ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area. Both vehicles were operating without number plates.
The vehicles were picked up by the force's automated number plate recognition technology, which triggered the pursuit. The Volvo X60 has been traced and recovered in Middlesbrough as part of the wider investigation.
Nine men and three women aged between 19 and 61 have been arrested on suspicion of several offences, ranging from possession of a firearm to participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
Crash sequence and victims
The smash happened moments after the Passat was caught on doorbell footage tearing through Middlesbrough's streets. Officers had been chasing the motor after it was flagged as suspicious, with two patrol cars trailing it. Three minutes later, the vehicle smashed into the marked firearms unit cars, killing all seven people in both vehicles.
The police watchdog, the IOPC, says the crash occurred roughly 10 seconds after the police chase came to an end. The five occupants of the Volkswagen Passat have been identified as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jakub Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18.
