Hundreds of mourners lined the streets of Middlesbrough for the funeral of one of the five men killed in the A66 crash, with some attendees wearing balaclavas and face coverings.
The memorial for 23-year-old Jakub Matusiak took place at St John the Evangelist Church in South Bank on 4 September, following the crash on August 22 in which he was one of five travelling the wrong way down the A66 before colliding with a police car. The crash killed all the men on board and two police officers in the police vehicle.
Procession details
Attendees wore black and orange, reportedly Jakub's favourite colours, while others wore face coverings and balaclavas. Jakub's body was transported through the streets in a coffin engraved with the word "son" and decorated with black and orange flowers. Two white horses, a white Rolls-Royce and a Lamborghini featured in the procession.
Hundreds of friends, family and locals lined the streets for hours ahead of the event, with floral tributes and photos placed along the procession route.
Road closures and school closures
The council reportedly closed several roads in the area in anticipation of the procession. Schools in the area also closed early, with South Bank Primary School saying they had done so "to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our pupils". Cleveland Police warned locals to expect delays on the roads throughout the afternoon.
Crash details and previous memorials
Jakub was one of five young men killed when the Volkswagen Passat they were travelling in collided with a police vehicle on the A66 on August 22. Police have said the Passat was travelling in the wrong direction when the collision took place. The crash also killed PCs Matthew Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, 38.
The other men in the Passat who died were Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, and Makai Saddington, 18.
In the days after the crash, hundreds attended a memorial for Jakub where orange balloons were released into the sky. That event also saw around 20 masked youths ride quad bikes around a field and fire flares into the air. A separate vigil for Cahill saw cars driven around a field before being set alight. Friday's funeral, however, centred on Jakub's family and friends as hundreds gathered to say their final farewells.
