A66 crash: Police officers and five young men named as investigation continues
Two police officers and five young men died in a head-on crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough; an investigation is looking into a police pursuit that was aborted seconds before the collision.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Seven people, including two police officers, have died in a head-on crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough in the early hours of Saturday. The collision involved a marked police car and a Volkswagen Passat that was travelling the wrong way down the dual carriageway near South Bank.
The officers have been named as PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38. Both were in an armed response vehicle. The five people in the Passat were named as Jacob Matuszak, 23, Mackay Saddington, 18, Theo Ray, 17, Michael Robert Cahill, 23, and Cole Robert Worthy, 17.
Police had been pursuing the Passat after it was flagged as suspicious, and it is believed to have been using cloned number plates. The pursuit lasted nearly seven minutes and was abandoned when the car went the wrong way down the A66. Ten seconds later, it collided with the police car, which was not part of the pursuit but had been sent to help locate it.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has launched an investigation, as is mandatory in any death involving police contact. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said he was devastated by the loss of life. The Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Victoria Fuller, described the officers as brave and said the force was providing support to their families.
Tributes have been left at the scene, and a GoFundMe page set up by the police federation has raised more than £150,000. PC Clough's family described him as a hero with a fantastic sense of humour, while PC Blades' wife said the pain of losing him is beyond words.
The crash has also raised questions about police pursuits and the glorification of dangerous driving on social media. A video posted on TikTok, believed to be linked to one of the victims, appears to show a car being pursued by police.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | Channel 4 | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The two police officers who died were named PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough. | ||||||
| All four people entered the water from the land for a swim. | · | |||||
| Multiple people died at the scene despite the efforts of emergency services. | · | |||||
| The father who died was identified as Hossam al-Khawas, a Palestinian refugee. | · | |||||
| The IOPC launched an investigation into the incident, and Cleveland Police is cooperating. | · | |||||
| The pursuit had been abandoned before the crash. | · | |||||
| Three members of the same family, a man, a woman and a teenage girl, died, and a child was taken to hospital. | · | |||||
| A crash occurred at approximately 3:39am on the A66 at South Bank. | · | · | ||||
| Four people, two adults and two children, got into difficulty in the water at Shoreham. | · | · | ||||
| All four people involved were from the same family. | · | · | · | |||
| Sea conditions around Shoreham were rough due to strong winds. | · | · | · | |||
| The crash happened during a police pursuit. | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
5 News focused on the human tragedy, leading with the names of the two officers and the tributes from their families. It also highlighted the fact that the IOPC is investigating, but gave less detail on the sequence of the pursuit compared to other channels.
- “Two police officers killed in a crash near Middlesbrough have been named as PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough.”
- “PC Tom Clough's family described him as their hero with a fantastic sense of humour, saying he'd be willing to help anyone for any reason.”
BBC ONE West provided the most detailed timeline of events, including the fact that the pursuit was abandoned 10 seconds before the crash and that the police car involved was not part of the chase. It also gave extensive coverage of the victims' names and the Prime Minister's response.
- “Tragically, two police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, died at the scene along with the five occupants of the Passat as a result of the collision.”
- “The Independent Office for Police Conduct has revealed that police had received reports about incidents involving the car. An armed response car pursued it for nearly seven minutes before it drove onto the wrong side of the A66. The chase was ended likely for safety reasons. Ten seconds later, the car crashed into the vehicle driven by PC Blades and Clough.”
BBC NEWS gave a national perspective, emphasising the scale of the tragedy and the mandatory IOPC investigation. It also reported the Prime Minister's statement and the names of the officers, but with less local colour than BBC ONE West.
- “Seven people, including two police officers, have died in a crash near Middlesbrough in the north-east of England.”
- “The Independent Office for Police Conduct is now investigating what happened.”
ITV1 focused on the investigative details, such as the cloned number plates and the doorbell footage of the pursuit. It also gave prominence to the family tributes, particularly for PC Clough, and the fact that the pursuit was called off seconds before the crash.
- “The Passat is believed to have been using cloned number plates.”
- “A doorbell camera shows a vehicle speeding down a street chased by police cars. The pursuit lasted seven minutes and police say they called it off ten seconds before the crash.”
- “PC Clough's family described him as a hero with a fantastic sense of humour, and they said he fought to make the world a better place.”
Channel 4 highlighted the social media dimension, including a TikTok video linked to one of the victims and concerns about dangerous driving being glorified online. It also provided a detailed account of the crash and the victims' names.
- “A TikTok account that includes photos of one of the teenagers has this video that shows a police pursuit from a few months ago.”
- “There are fears of a worrying social media trend where young men post themselves driving dangerously, bragging and taunting the police for social media likes.”
Sky News emphasised the police perspective, with the Chief Constable's emotional tribute and the fact that the officers were not part of the pursuit. It also stressed the IOPC investigation and the impact on the local community.
- “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.”
- “Cleveland Police have told us they were driving a marked armed response car at the time of the crash but that they weren't involved in chasing the Passat that hit them.”
- “The police watchdog, the IOPC, is now investigating the crash while Cleveland Police continue their investigations after losing two of their own.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.