A family member of Jacob Matusiak, one of five men killed in the wrong-way crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough, has said that if the police pursuit had been “called off earlier lives might have been saved.”
The five men were travelling in a Volkswagen Passat that collided with a police car, resulting in the deaths of seven people, including two police officers.
Victims identified
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 early on Saturday (August 22). Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were killed when the Volkswagen was driven the wrong way along a dual carriageway and hit their marked armed response vehicle.
The cousin of Jacob Matusiak told Sky News that the family “want answers” regarding the incident and have asked police for the “full picture.”
Family demands answers
They said: “We are just devastated for everyone involved. If he was at fault, he was at fault, but they need to give us the full picture. He was no saint and has been involved in stuff before - we know that - but we cannot believe this has happened. We all want answers - we were told the chase should have been called off earlier. If it had been called off earlier lives might have been saved.”
Tributes for the five young men have been shared on social media, with many of their friends saying they “can’t believe it” and were “heartbroken” and “lost for words.”
Tributes and memorials
Balloon releases have been announced in their memory, with one happening last night and others on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, at different locations including in South Bank. One message, dedicated to all five, said: “We all knew use and knew use had hearts of gold and most loyalist lads.”
The Passat they were travelling in was spotted, and an armed response vehicle pursued it for just under seven minutes before the car drove onto 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 it ceased.
