Armed response vehicle struck head-on after separate police pursuit near Middlesbrough
Two police officers killed when a car travelling in the wrong direction along the A66 collided with their marked vehicle have been named as PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.
The Cleveland Police officers were among seven people who died in the collision at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, at approximately 3.39am on Saturday, 22 August. Five people travelling in the other vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat, were also pronounced dead at the scene.
Cleveland Police said the Passat was travelling the wrong way along the A66 when it collided with the officers’ marked armed response vehicle, which was proceeding in the correct direction.
Although the Passat had previously been involved in a police pursuit, it is understood that PC Blades and PC Clough were not the officers pursuing it. Their vehicle was in the area and travelling normally along the correct carriageway when the collision occurred.
Pursuit began after suspicious vehicle was sighted
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an investigation following a mandatory referral from Cleveland Police. The watchdog said its initial information indicated that officers had sighted a suspicious vehicle and that a pursuit subsequently began.
The Passat then entered the A66 before colliding with the marked police vehicle. The precise sequence of events, including the conduct and duration of the pursuit, the route taken by the Passat and whether the pursuit had been discontinued before the collision, will form part of the independent investigation.
No conclusions have yet been reached about the actions of any officers involved. The referral and investigation are required because the deaths followed earlier contact with the police.
“Brave officers who did not return home”
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller described the deaths as an immeasurable loss for the force and the communities it serves.
“These were brave officers, protecting our communities and serving our residents, who didn’t return home to their families at the end of their shift,” she said.
The Chief Constable and her deputy visited the families of PC Blades and PC Clough to offer their condolences and support. Assistance has also been made available to colleagues and other members of Cleveland Police affected by the tragedy.
The five occupants of the Passat have been formally identified, according to the force, and specialist family liaison officers are supporting their bereaved relatives. Their names had not been officially released at the time of writing.
Large emergency response unable to save those involved
The North East Ambulance Service dispatched 14 resources to the collision, including emergency ambulance crews, a specialist paramedic, its Hazardous Area Response Team and a doctor from the Great North Air Ambulance Service.
Despite the efforts of those attending, none of the seven people involved could be saved. The ambulance service offered its condolences to every family affected and thanked the emergency personnel who responded to the scene.
The affected section of the A66 was closed in both directions during the extensive forensic examination. A large cordon was established and restrictions were imposed on drone flights over the area.
Independent investigation now under way
Investigators will seek to reconstruct the movements of both vehicles and examine police communications, vehicle data, road conditions, available camera recordings and the decisions made during the earlier pursuit.
The inquiry will also need to establish how the Passat entered the dual carriageway in the wrong direction and how long it had been travelling against the flow of traffic before it struck the officers’ vehicle.
The A66 is a major dual carriageway through Teesside rather than a motorway, but its divided carriageways and high-speed traffic made the presence of a vehicle travelling in the wrong direction extraordinarily dangerous.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was devastated by the loss of life and urged the public not to speculate while investigators establish the facts. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said police officers placed their own safety at risk every day to protect the public and expressed her condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of everyone killed.
For Cleveland Police, the collision represents not merely the loss of two serving officers but the sudden absence of two colleagues who began an ordinary night shift and never returned home. For seven families, the events on the A66 have brought irreversible loss. The task now facing investigators is to provide them with a full, independent and carefully evidenced account of how those seven lives were lost.
Reporting verified against statements from Cleveland Police� and the Independent Office for Police Conduct�.
