A66 crash victim’s home reportedly rammed before fatal crash

It is the second home linked to one of the men killed in the crash to have been hit shortly before.

According to The Sun, a silver Audi was shunted into the front of a three-storey home belonging to Theo Rae’s mum.

Pictures show the badly damaged convertible still parked outside the home almost a week later, with a blue tarpaulin covering damage to the front of the building.

The home of the mum of A66 crash victim Theo Rae was reportedly rammed in the early hours of Saturday in the lead up to the fatal crash, The Sun has reported. (Image: STUART BOULTON)

Rae, 17, was killed in the crash which claimed the lives of seven people, including two Cleveland Police officers, PC Matthew Blades and Tom Clough.

A property belonging to the dad of fellow crash victim Cole Worthy, 17, was also targeted on Ruskin Avenue in Acklam in the moments leading up to the deadly crash.

A house in Ruskin Avenue, Middlesbrough, after being rammed by a car, which deliberately reversed into the front window, causing extensive damage. (Image: OWEN HUMPHRIES/ PA WIRE)

A source told The Sun: “Cole’s dad’s home was rammed first, but it was empty at the time. No one gave a s*** about it.

“There was a large police presence at the property but by then Theo and the others were already in the Passat looking for the gang responsible.

“This is the reason it all exploded.”

Andy McDonald, MP for Middlesbrough, previously said a gangs and the drug trade were “clearly featuring” in a spate of violence on Teesside in recent days.

From left to right: Makai Saddington, 18, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Michael Robert Cahill, 23. (Image: SOCIAL MEDIA)

Rae was travelling in a VW Passat with Cole Worthy, Michael Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18, when they were spotted by marked police cars.

Police pursued the vehicle for seven minutes before the Passat went the wrong way up the A66.

Scene of the crash on the A66 (Image: NORTH NEWS)

The pursuit was abandoned before the Passat collided head-on with an armed response vehicle not previously involved in the chase.

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died at the scene.

Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, (Image: CLEVELAND POLICE)

More than 200 specialist officers have been drafted in to help restore order.

The home of the mum of A66 crash victim Theo Rae was reportedly rammed in the early hours of Saturday in the lead up to the fatal crash, The Sun has reported. (Image: STUART BOULTON)

Valentina Foster, seven, and Natalie McDonald, 34, have been named locally as the two victims who died following a house fire in Grangetown. (Image: Provided)

The community remains shaken after a house fire claimed the two lives of seven-year-old Valentina Foster and 34-year-old Natalie McDonald on Birchington Avenue in Grangetown.

Police previously said they could not rule out a link between the blaze, being treated as murder, and incidents surrounding the crash. On Friday (August 28) police said they were not believed to be linked.

Other incidents include an attack with a bladed weapon in Eston, another in Thornaby – both of which saw armed police attend, as well as another wall smashed into on Steele Crescent in Grangetown.