Drone footage captured above a field in County Durham has revealed the charred remains left behind following fires started at a memorial event linked to the A66 tragedy. Scattered across a field in Haswell were the remnants of fireworks, smoke canisters and balloons, where vehicles were reportedly set alight on Thursday night, 27 August, during a balloon release honouring one of the men who perished in the VW Passat involved in the A66 collision.
Scorch marks and burned-out vehicles
Visible scorch marks scarred the ground where mourners had gathered to pay their respects to Michael Cahill, 23. Mr Cahill was amongst the five occupants of a VW Passat who died at the scene of the devastating crash, after the vehicle travelled the wrong way along the dual carriageway before colliding with a marked armed police vehicle.
Two officers, PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, also tragically lost their lives in the early hours of Saturday morning, 22 August. Fellow VW Passat occupants Theo Rae, 17; Cole Robert Worthy, 17; Jacob Matusiak, 23; and Makai Saddington, 18, also perished in the incident.
Arrests and wider investigation
The drone footage, recorded on Friday, 28 August, captured the destruction left in the wake of the car fires. Shortly beforehand, footage circulated on social media apparently showing a sizeable crowd congregating on open grassland, with vehicles visibly performing skids across the area.
Further footage circulating online on Thursday evening appeared to show charred vehicles being removed from the field by a tractor. In total, 17 individuals have been arrested, three of whom have been charged, as officers probe wider organised criminal activity in the aftermath of the collision, reports Teesside Live.
An additional 200 officers have been drafted in to bolster Cleveland Police from several forces, including the National Crime Agency. This comes as a murder inquiry enters its third day, following the tragic deaths of a seven-year-old girl and her aunt in a devastating house fire on Birchington Avenue, Grangetown.
Officers have yet to rule out a connection between the crash and the fatal blaze, which occurred just a mile from the scene. Two men, aged 23 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of murder on Wednesday, August 26.
