Tributes Paid to Police Officers Killed in A66 Wrong-Way Crash
Seven people, including two police officers, died early Saturday morning when a Volkswagen Passat traveling the wrong way on the A66 dual carriageway crashed head-on into a marked armed response vehicle in South Bank, northeast England, according to reports verified by RTÉ, The Irish Times, and The Guardian. The collision occurred at approximately 3:39 a.m.
Police Officers and Public Victims Identified
The two officers killed in the crash were identified by authorities as PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, according to The Guardian. They were traveling in a marked Cleveland Police armed response vehicle when it was struck by the Volkswagen Passat. Five young men inside the Passat also died in the collision. Local authorities have not yet officially named the five men traveling in the Passat, though they have been identified on social media, as reported by The Guardian.
Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller stated that she and her deputy visited the families of the two fallen officers on Saturday to offer condolences and support. “This is an incredibly sad day for Cleveland,” Fuller said in a statement reported by The Guardian. “This loss is being felt across our communities, by our police family and by our partner agencies. 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.”
Investigation and Prior Police Movement
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has opened an investigation into the circumstances leading up to the crash following a mandatory referral from Cleveland Police, according to The Guardian. Security camera and Ring doorbell footage from local residential areas show police vehicles pursuing a car at speed down a local road moments before the fatal impact on the A66. While police vehicles had chased the Volkswagen before it entered the dual carriageway, it is understood that the pursuit had ended prior to the collision, as reported by the BBC and The Guardian.
Community and Official Tributes
Anna Turley, the Home Office minister and local MP for Redcar, described the event as devastating. “There were seven lives cut short needlessly in the early hours of yesterday morning and that’s a tragedy for the community here, it’s a tragedy for the Cleveland Police family,” Turley told BBC Breakfast. She praised the daily bravery of police officers and emphasized that no worker should fail to return home at the end of a shift.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated he was “devastated” to learn of the deaths of the two officers and five members of the public, urging the public to avoid speculation while investigations continue, according to The Guardian. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen shared a statement on Facebook calling the event a “horrible and tragic incident” and noting that police officers “put everything on the line to protect us.” Lauren Somerville, chair of the Cleveland Police Federation, added that the grief within the force was “all-consuming, overwhelming,” noting that words could not describe the pain felt by the Cleveland Police family.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct continues to examine the sequence of events preceding the crash.