Watchdog finds no evidence police deliberately struck car before fatal A66 crash

An initial investigation has found no evidence that police deliberately made contact with a car before a fatal collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough, the Independent Office for Police Conduct has said. The crash happened at South Bank on 22 August after a police pursuit that had been abandoned. Five people in a Volkswagen Passat and two Cleveland Police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, died.

The watchdog said there was no evidence of “tactical contact” by police or of a stinger being used to stop the Passat. A stinger is a portable spike strip designed to puncture vehicle tyres. According to the initial findings, the pursuit began at 03:33 BST.

Six minutes and 12 seconds later, the Passat slowed as it approached the A66, turned right and travelled the wrong way along the dual carriageway. The pursuing police driver did not follow the Passat onto the wrong carriageway. Instead, the driver turned off the blue warning lights and continued on the A66 on the correct side of the road.

The Passat collided with the marked police vehicle carrying the two officers about 17 seconds later. A forensic collision investigator is still assessing the speed of both vehicles at the moment of impact. Emily Barry, the IOPC’s director of engagement, said the full investigation would take months because of the volume of information that had to be reviewed.

She said there was no suggestion that the crash resulted from direct police contact or a police attempt to stop the Passat with a stinger. The IOPC has commissioned two expert reports. One will examine the collision reconstruction, while the other will assess the policies and procedures governing police pursuits.

The five people who died in the Passat were Michael Robert Cahill, Jakub Matusiak, Makai Saddington, Theo Rae and Cole Robert Worthy.