All seven people killed in the A66 crash near Middlesbrough have now been named, while the police watchdog has released new details about the pursuit that preceded the collision.
The two Cleveland Police officers killed were PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough. The five people who died in the Volkswagen Passat were Cole Robert Worthy, Theo Rae, Makai Saddington, Jakub Matusiak and Michael Robert Cahill.
The IOPC says the Passat was pursued for just under seven minutes before it entered the A66 against the flow of traffic. Officers then aborted the pursuit.
Approximately 10 seconds later, the Passat collided with another police vehicle that had not been involved in the pursuit but was in the area assisting with the search.
Seven people, including two serving police officers, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way along the A66 collided with a marked Cleveland Police vehicle in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, at 3:39am on Saturday, August 22, 2026.
New information released on Sunday has provided a much clearer picture of the events leading up to the collision. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) says the Passat had been linked to a number of incidents and was believed to be using cloned registration plates.
Who died in the A66 crash?
Cleveland Police has now named all five people who were travelling in the Volkswagen Passat:
- Cole Robert Worthy, 17
- Theo Rae, 17
- Makai Saddington, 18
- Jakub Matusiak, 23
- Michael Robert Cahill, 23
The two officers killed in the marked police vehicle were PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough. All seven occupants of the two vehicles were pronounced dead at the scene.
Family Liaison Officers are continuing to support the families of those who died.
What happened before the collision?
The latest update from the Independent Office for Police Conduct provides important new details about the timeline.
According to the watchdog, Cleveland Police had received intelligence about a number of incidents linked to the Volkswagen Passat. The vehicle was later spotted and an armed response vehicle began pursuing it.
Analysis of police in-car footage shows that the pursuit continued for just under seven minutes.
The Passat then entered the A66 in South Bank against the flow of traffic. At that point, officers abandoned the pursuit and continued travelling on the correct side of the carriageway.
Crash happened about 10 seconds after pursuit ended
The IOPC says that approximately 10 seconds after the pursuit was aborted, the Passat collided with another marked police vehicle.
Crucially, the police vehicle involved in the fatal collision was not the vehicle that had been pursuing the Passat.
The officers in that vehicle were in the area to help search for the Passat, which investigators say was believed to be using cloned registration plates that had activated an Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera.
The Passat was travelling in the wrong direction while the police vehicle was travelling correctly along the A66 when they collided at 3:39am.
IOPC launches independent investigation
The IOPC opened an independent investigation after receiving a mandatory referral from Cleveland Police.
Investigators have obtained initial accounts from officers involved in the pursuit, the police incident log and in-car footage. The watchdog says it is continuing to obtain and analyse additional evidence.
The investigation will examine the police pursuit and the circumstances immediately before the fatal collision. The IOPC has said it will not provide further comment while that work continues.
Police officers remembered after A66 tragedy
Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller described the deaths of PC Blades and PC Clough as a devastating loss for their families, colleagues and communities.
The force said the two officers had been serving their communities when they failed to return home from their shift. Specialist support is being provided to the officers’ families and others affected by the tragedy.
The incident has also prompted tributes across the policing community and the wider Teesside area.
What is confirmed — and what remains under investigation?
Authorities have established that seven people died, the Passat was travelling against the flow of traffic and a police pursuit had taken place shortly before the collision.
It is also now confirmed that the pursuit lasted just under seven minutes and was terminated when the Passat entered the A66 in the wrong direction. The fatal collision occurred roughly 10 seconds later with a different police vehicle.
However, the IOPC investigation remains active. Investigators are still reviewing evidence surrounding the pursuit, police decision-making and the full sequence of events that resulted in the collision.
No final investigative findings have yet been published, so claims assigning legal responsibility for the deaths should not be treated as established fact.
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Latest A66 crash investigation update
The biggest development on Sunday is the IOPC’s confirmation of the pursuit timeline and Cleveland Police’s identification of the five people in the Passat.
The watchdog’s investigation is continuing, with officers’ accounts, incident logs and vehicle footage among the evidence being examined. Further information could be released as investigators establish the complete sequence of events.
Updated: Sunday, August 23, 2026. This article will require further updating if Cleveland Police or the IOPC releases new verified findings.
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