Inquests open into seven who died in A66 crash

3 hours ago

Mark DentenNorth East and Cumbria correspondent

News image — PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough were killed in the crash near Middlesbrough on Saturday

Cleveland Police Pictures of the two officers. Both are smiling. PC Blades, left, has stubble and short fair hair. PC Clough also has stubble and short dark hair. — PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough were killed in the crash near Middlesbrough on Saturday

Warning: This article contains details people may find upsetting

Seven people, including two police officers, killed in a car crash on the A66 had fatal head injuries, an inquest has provisionally concluded.

Cleveland Police officers PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died on Saturday when their police vehicle was hit by a Volkswagen Passat which was going the wrong way down the dual carriageway near Middlesbrough.

Short inquest hearings at Teesside Coroner's Court heard the men died from head and neck injuries.

Separate inquests have also opened into the deaths of the five young men in the VW Passat - Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, and 17-year-olds Theo Rae and Cole Robert Worthy.

Area Coroner for Teesside and Hartlepool Paul Appleton said both officers died in the fatal road traffic collision on the A66 between Normanby Road and Church Lane in Eston, after their vehicle was in collision with the Passat that was driven "against the flow of traffic".

He said there had been an "aborted" police pursuit, which both officers were "not directly involved in".

The inquest was told PC Blades' provisional cause of death was head and neck injuries, while PC Clough's provisional cause of death was given as neck injuries.

It heard PC Blades was identified by his wife and PC Clough by his partner.

The coroner said he was waiting on a report on the full post-mortem examinations into the men's deaths, a report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, and a police collision report.

Social media Five young men in their late teens and early 20s. They all have similar haircuts, with a fringe and faded back and sides. Four of them are gesturing with their fingers. Three of them extend their thumb, index, and pinky fingers - leaving their middle and ring finger tucked down. One points with his index and middle finger whilst holding a Lucozade bottle. They are all dressed in casual clothing. — The five who died in the Passat were Jakub Matusiak, Makai Saddington, Theo Rae, Michael Robert Cahill and Cole Robert Worthy

Later, another inquest heard Matusiak's provisional cause of death was head and neck injuries.

Worthy died from head and chest injuries, Cahill died from head and torso injuries, while Saddington and Rae's provisional causes of death were given as blunt head injury.

In separate hearings, Appleton said the young men were identified through fingerprint analysis.

BBC / Peter Harris A pile of flowers are placed next to a post in a grassy area next to a pavement. There is a blue and white flower tribute at the top of the pile that spells out: "RIP 999" and has pictures of PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades. — Flowers and tributes have been placed near to the crash site on the A66

Floral tributes have continued to be left near the crash site, while a minute's silence was held at Cleveland Police's headquarters earlier to remember the officers.

A fundraising appeal set up by the Cleveland Police Federation for the two officers' families has raised more than £1m.

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