The five people killed when a Volkswagen Passat crashed into a marked armed response vehicle on the A66 have been named. The crash happened at 3.39am on Saturday in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, when the Passat was driven the wrong way down the dual-carriageway.
It hit the police vehicle, which was travelling in the correct direction, killing the five occupants as well as two police officers. Officers had spotted a suspicious vehicle and a pursuit began before the car turned onto the A66 and collided with a police car, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.
Victims named
Cleveland Police has named the five people inside the Volkswagen as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, Jacob Matusiak, 23 and Makai Saddington, 18. The force previously named the two police officers as PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.
The Mirror reported Mr Saddington had previously posted videos of police chases with one filmed from the passenger seat showing an Audi being driven at speed while being pursued by police. Ring doorbell footage shows the car was driven at speed through Middlesbrough's streets at 3.36am before officers stopped when the car turned onto the A66.
Tributes to officers
Husband and dad-of-two PC Blades had recently become a Seaton Carew FC coach and was preparing for his first turn teaching its under-sevens Seahawks squad. “He was looking forward to being part of the team and, most importantly, to coaching his own son who is going to be playing for the Seahawks this season,” the club said on social media. “Matty and his oldest son are much-loved members of our club and our U10 Lions football family.”
Ex-frontline responder Graham Wettone, who served in the Metropolitan Police for more than three decades, said Cleveland Police staff “will literally know most people” in the force and the effect of the crash will be “massive”. Cleveland police and crime commissioner Matt Storey also described the force as a “really tight-knit family” and said the incident “will have a big impact on them”.
Investigation underway
Anna Turley, MP for the Redcar constituency where the accident happened, said the “whole community is reeling here today” on Sunday morning. Cleveland Police force made a mandatory referral to the IOPC which is now investigating the lead-up to the deadly crash. It is understood the two police officers were not part of the pursuit.
The families of the five people who were travelling in the Volkswagen are being supported by officers, Cleveland Police said on Saturday. In a statement to reporters on Saturday afternoon, Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller said: “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.”
