Twelve people have been arrested by police probing a crash on the A66 which killed five joyriders and two police officers.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died early on Saturday when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way down the dual carriageway near Middlesbrough crashed head-on into their marked armed response vehicle.
Nine men and three women, aged between 19 and 61, have now been arrested on suspicion of offences ranging from possession of a firearm to participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
Cleveland Police received several reports of the Volkswagen Passat being driven dangerously on Saturday. Separate reports involved a second car, a Volvo XC60, which was seen ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area.
Both vehicles were operating with cloned number plates to avoid detection but were identified through the force’s automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system.
The five young men in the VW, which had just been chased by other officers when the crash happened, all died and were named as Michael Robert Cahill, 23; Jacob Matusiak, 23; Makai Saddington, 18; Theo Rae, 17; and Cole Robert Worthy, 17.
Today, balloon releases will be held in memory of two of the joyriders, Worthy and Matusiak. Four of those killed in the VW had extensive criminal records, including convictions for offences such as drug offences, assault and robbery.
Yesterday the Daily Mail revealed Saddington’s TikTok featured a string of videos appearing to show him in high-speed police chases.
One clip, filmed in May and set to rap music, showed the 18-year-old being driven in an Audi speeding through a housing estate while a police car with flashing blue lights followed behind.
Another video on an account linked to him showed a green Nissan being driven around before it is set alight, while images posted elsewhere show him and a friend posing in cars wearing black balaclavas.
Police said there is no evidence to indicate that filming of the activities that took place on Friday night and Saturday morning happened for the purposes of TikTok.
PC Matthew Blades, a father of two, was killed when his police vehicle was struck head-on by a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way down the A66 near Middlesbrough
PC Tom Clough also died in the crash, which occurred around 10 seconds after a police pursuit of the Volkswagen had been called off.
This morning it was reported that Saddington was awaiting trial on charges of racially abusing and assaulting police officers.
A video from Matusiak’s TikTok profile appeared to show him driving recklessly with the caption: ‘Unfortunately I’m not a nonchalant boyfriend.’
Filmed by the driver, it showed a car barrelling through a neighbourhood before swerving onto a green in the middle of an estate.
The vehicle appeared to career down a footpath as the driver casually spun the wheel with one hand.
On Saturday night the pair had been fleeing from police with the three other men when they drove the wrong way down the A66 and smashed into the officers, who were not involved in the chase.
The police pursuit had been called off around ten seconds before the crash.
The Middlesbrough crash came less than a week after an incident in Co. Kildare, Ireland, when five teenagers died in a head-on crash while driving the wrong way down the M9.
A family in the other car – three women and a seven-year-old boy – were left seriously injured after the crash, when it is understood they were travelling to the airport to begin a holiday.
At least three of the teenagers had boasted online about driving the wrong way down motorways to evade police.
Speaking in Kyiv today, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the Government had urged TikTok and other platforms to remove videos which glorify dangerous driving.
Mr Burnham said those who share such videos are ‘doing something that’s truly reprehensible’.
Makai Saddington, one of the five killed in the Volkswagen, posted videos on TikTok of him being chased by police and was awaiting trial for racially abusing and assaulting officers
Jacob Matusiak, another occupant of the car which hit the officers, also posted videos of himself driving recklessly
Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Robert Worthy both died in the crash on Saturday
Michael Robert Cahill was one of the five in the VW
A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘The glorification of dangerous driving for clips and entertainment is utterly disgraceful and that is why we have raised the issue of this appalling content with social media companies since the tragedy.’
More than half a million pounds has now been raised for the families of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough following their tragic deaths.
A fundraiser created by the Cleveland Police Federation yesterday for the two officers’ families reached £487,000 today.
Organisers said funds raised would be split equally between the two officers’ families, and the federation would continue to provide support.
A second crowdfunder for the families, started by former Cleveland Police officer Paul Cooper, raised more than £36,000.
PC Blades was a married father-of-two and dedicated football coach in his spare time.
He had recently joined Seaton Carew FC as a coach and was looking forward to coaching his son in its under-sevens Seahawks squad, the club said.
The officer also coached his eldest son and other youngsters in FC Hartlepool’s under-10s Reds team, which described him as ‘a role model, a mentor, a friend and someone the children looked up to and admired’.
Today, balloon releases will be held in memory of Jakub Matusiak
Cole Worthy will also be commemorated with a balloon release
PC Blades’ wife described him as ‘our superhero’ and said: ‘He gave his life in the line of duty, protecting and serving others with courage, dedication and selflessness.’
Meanwhile, former soldier PC Clough, 38, was described by his family as ‘our hero’ who was ‘always on public duty’.
They said he ‘jumped into action whenever needed and was willing to help anyone for any reason’.
The family statement added that he ‘proudly fought for his country to make the world a better place’.
It continued: ‘We, as a family, and Tom’s partner would like to express our sincere gratitude for the overwhelming support and condolences from friends, colleagues and the wider community.’
A man who knew PC Clough described him on social media as ‘a true friend, a fantastic soldier and, I have no doubt, an even better police officer’.
PC Clough’s commanding officer from his time serving with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary at Sellafield paid tribute to him as the ‘epitome of professionalism’, while also recalling his ‘fun-loving, cheeky nature’.
King Charles said the ultimate responsibility lies with the drivers themselves. Last year there were 947 cases reported of drivers going the wrong way on English motorways, he added.
In the past 30 weeks, 31 people have been charged with wrong-way driving.
‘It perhaps happens a little more than than we would think,’ Charles said.
‘There have been a couple of cases with very elderly drivers doing so, but many cases are to get those social media clicks.
‘In other cases it’s people being caught in congestion or they’ve missed their exit and they’re fed up and they do a U-turn and go back up the hard shoulder to try and exit.’
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