The mother of Michael Cahill, one of five men who died in a collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough, has appealed to his friends to bring "bikes, jeeps, cars and quads" to a balloon release ceremony so he gets "the send-off he deserves."
Seven killed in A66 collision
Michael Cahill, 23, was travelling in a VW Passat that collided with a marked police car while driving on the wrong carriageway during a police pursuit. Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Michael Cahill were declared dead at the scene in South Bank on Saturday, August 22. PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, the two officers involved, also died.
Since the deaths, memorial gatherings and balloon releases have taken place, with masked young people observed setting off flares. Around a hundred people attended an event on August 26 to pay tribute to Makai Saddington, Theo Rae and Cole Worthy. Monday's first memorial service for Jakub Matusiak saw fireworks being lit.
Balloon release planned tonight
Tonight, August 27, larger crowds are anticipated at a field in Peterlee, County Durham, after Michael Cahill's mum urged friends to bring vehicles for his farewell. The message about the balloon release was posted by his mum on social media and was reportedly a "change of plans" while confirming new details.
Inquests into the deaths of PC Blades and PC Clough were opened and adjourned at Teesside Magistrates' Court this morning. Coroner Paul Appleton said PC Blades was identified by his wife and PC Clough by his partner. The provisional cause of death was head and neck injuries for PC Blades and neck injuries for PC Clough.
Pursuit aborted before collision
Mr Appleton told the hearing that in the early hours of August 22, there was a collision on the A66 at South Bank between a police vehicle and a Volkswagen Passat. He said: "All occupants of both vehicles were sadly pronounced dead at the scene."
He added: "At this stage it is understood that there had been a police pursuit of the Volkswagen Passat. It entered the A66 carriageway against the flow of traffic, at which stage the pursuit was aborted. A short time after … the Volkswagen Passat collided with a police vehicle, which had not been directly involved in the prior pursuit."
The Passat had been pursued following an earlier incident in which a house in the Acklam area of Middlesbrough, linked to Worthy, was rammed by a vehicle. The pursuit was aborted when the Passat went the wrong way down the A66. Police have said the five young men may have had links to "serious and organised criminal activity" and four have previous convictions. PC Blades and PC Clough were not involved in the original pursuit but had been called to assist with the search for the Passat.
Arrests and fundraising
An online appeal to raise money for the officers' families passed £1 million on Wednesday. Police have arrested 17 people following the crash, charging two and bailing the others, as part of investigations into alleged organised crime.
On Wednesday, a seven-year-old girl and her aunt were killed in a house fire on Birchington Avenue in Grangetown, believed to be linked to the A66 crash. The victims have been named locally as Valentina Foster and her 34-year-old aunt Natalie McDonald. A 48-year-old woman remains in a critical condition in hospital, while three others suffered injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Cleveland Police launched a murder investigation, with two men arrested.
Police would not rule out a link between the blaze and the A66 crash. Tributes have been left outside the house, with a photo of the pair among bouquets and toys. On Thursday, a vehicle crashed into a wall outside a house on Steele Crescent, South Bank, close to the scenes of both fatal incidents. Cleveland Police said it has not been confirmed whether there is any link with the latest incident.
Asked about the incidents, the Prime Minister told reporters during a visit to South Wales: "Obviously we're offering all of the support that the authorities need. The important thing, it's a terribly tragic event that's happened with the loss of a young woman and her seven-year-old niece." He continued: "Utterly devastating, and I'm sure there's a whole community that is grieving, not just what happened at the weekend, and particularly we should stress our deepest respect for the police officers lost in the line of duty and sending our sympathies to their families. And we will obviously make sure that the support is there for them going forward."
He added: "The only thing I can say this morning is there is an investigation underway. It will be the fullest possible investigation. The authorities will have all of the support that they need. We do need to understand the extent to which they may be connected, but they may not be. So I think it's too early to jump to conclusions. But what we can say at this point in time is that all of the support will be provided to get to the heart of what has happened here."
On Thursday afternoon, inquests will open into the deaths of Cole Worthy, Theo Rae, Makai Saddington, Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak.
