Pursuit ‘abandoned’ seconds before crash killed seven
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Pursuit ‘abandoned’ seconds before crash killed seven
Image source: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
Image caption: Seven people including two police officers were killed in a crash on the A66 on Saturday
By Mallory Moench and Tom MacDougall, North East and Cumbria
Published 23 August 2026, 07:23 BST
Updated 28 minutes ago
Police abandoned the pursuit of a car seconds before it crashed going the wrong way down a dual carriageway, killing all five men aboard and two officers, investigators have said.
- Michael Robert Cahill, 23
- Jacob Matusiak, 23
- Theo Rae, 17
- Makai Saddington, 18
- Cole Robert Worthy, 17
and
- PC Matthew Blades, 37
- PC Tom Clough, 38
were killed in the incident on the A66 near Middlesbrough on Saturday.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the force had been pursuing the car following reports of "numerous incidents" linked to it.
LIVE: Tributes paid to ‘brave’ police officers among seven killed in wrong-way crash
The watchdog, which launched an immediate investigation, said the car was believed to be using cloned registration plates which activated an ANPR camera.
Analysis of footage from one of the police vehicles showed the pursuit lasted just under seven minutes before the car travelled on to the wrong side of the A66, at which point officers "abandoned" it, the IOPC said.
The pursuing officers continued to travel on the correct side of the carriageway but approximately 10 seconds later at about 03:39 BST, the car collided with the vehicle of PC Blades and PC Clough, who were "in the area to assist in a search" for the car, a spokesman said.
Security footage from a house on Lime Road in Middlesbrough appears to show a car being pursued by police vehicles three minutes before the crash.
[Video link or embed]
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller said on Saturday it was an "incredibly sad day for Cleveland", adding: "No one should leave their home and not return safely."
She said she and her deputy chief constable visited the officers’ families to "offer our condolences, support one another, and begin to come to terms with this unimaginable loss".
Politicians, including the prime minister and home secretary, have remembered the officers, with Andy Burnham saying he was "devastated" by the news.
The Great North Air Ambulance said it "will be felt across our communities and among all those who responded and supported the emergency response".
MP Anna Turley described the crash as a "devastating tragedy" for both families involved and the Cleveland Police family.
"There were seven lives cut short needlessly in the early hours of yesterday morning and that’s a tragedy for the community here, it’s a tragedy for the Cleveland Police family," she said.
She paid tribute to the "bravery" of PC Blades and PC Clough and said "no one should not come home to their families at the end of their shift."
Cleveland Police Federation chairwoman Lauren Somerville called the loss of the officers "unfathomable", adding: "We are a family, we support each other. We take great pride in what we do for the community and this has just shaken us all to our core."
