🚨 A66 CRASH: THE FINAL 10 SECONDS — WHAT HAPPENED AFTER POLICE ABORTED THE PURSUIT?
The fatal A66 collision near Middlesbrough unfolded only moments after police ended their pursuit of a Volkswagen Pᴀssat.
According to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, analysis of in-car footage showed the pursuit lasted just under seven minutes. The Pᴀssat then entered the A66 travelling against the flow of traffic. Officers aborted the pursuit and continued on the correct side of the carriageway. Around 10 seconds later, the Pᴀssat collided with another police vehicle that had been searching for it.
All seven people in the two vehicles died. The five occupants of the Pᴀssat were Michael Robert Cahill, 23; Jakub Matusiak, 23; Makai Saddington, 18; Theo Rae, 17; and Cole Robert Worthy, 17. The two officers were PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.
The IOPC is investigating the circumstances surrounding the pursuit, including the decisions made before it was ended. The watchdog has said it is reviewing officer accounts, the incident log and in-car footage as part of the investigation.
Those final seconds have become a crucial part of the investigation—not because they provide an easy answer, but because they may help establish exactly what happened between the end of the pursuit and the collision. 💔
