Fatal wrong-way crash on the A66
Two police officers and five men were killed in the early hours of Saturday when a Volkswagen Passat being driven the wrong way down the A66 near Middlesbrough collided head-on with a marked police vehicle carrying the officers. The officers have been named as PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38. The five occupants of the Passat were identified as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18. All seven were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the Passat had been pursued by police following reports of "numerous incidents" linked to the vehicle. Police dashcam footage shows the chase lasting just under seven minutes before the Passat drove onto the wrong carriageway of the A66, at which point officers "aborted" their pursuit. A Ring doorbell recording captured the Passat speeding along Lime Road at 3.36am, with the crash occurring at 3.39am.
Tributes have been paid to the two officers, with PC Clough's family describing him as "our hero with a fantastic sense of humour" and noting that he "proudly fought for his country". A GoFundMe page has been launched to support the families of the officers.
Video appears to show one of the dead driving recklessly
Footage has emerged on TikTok that appears to show one of the men who died in the crash, 23-year-old Jacob Matusiak, driving recklessly in the months before the collision. The video, posted in May, carries the caption "Unfortunately I'm not a nonchalant boyfriend." The clip, seemingly filmed by the driver himself, shows a car speeding through a residential area before veering onto a green in the middle of a housing estate, then heading down a path as the driver steers with the hand not holding the camera.
Separate clips posted on a TikTok account thought to belong to Makai Saddington, also killed in the crash, reportedly showed him and four others evading police in an apparent chase in March 2025, according to reports. Those videos have since been removed.
Saddington's criminal record
Court records show that Makai Saddington, 18, had a criminal history involving offences against police officers. An HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) spokesperson said Saddington pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer and indicated a guilty plea to causing racially aggravated alarm or distress to another officer in Middlesbrough on 9 June. He entered the pleas at Teesside Magistrates' Court on 17 July and was handed a 12-month conditional discharge. Earlier, on 1 April, he admitted three counts of assaulting PC John Walker and was ordered to pay £240 in costs and to complete rehabilitation.
Prior to the fatal crash, Saddington had also been accused of assaulting Sergeant Rooker of Cleveland Police and causing racially aggravated alarm or distress to PC Chowdhury, with a first court appearance in July, according to reports. The case had been adjourned.
Government urges social media firms to act
The UK government has called on TikTok and other social media companies to remove videos that show people driving the wrong way down roads, describing the content as an "absolutely idiotic" trend. Defence minister Luke Pollard told BBC Radio 5 Live that the government had "communicated to those social media platforms that have been hosting content that celebrates this type of dangerous behaviour on our roads to take down that content."
Pollard said platforms should "step up" and that the case presented "the perfect opportunity to demonstrate" their ability to police themselves, adding that while content remains online, the government would "use the powers in the Online Safety Act to compel the platforms" to act. He also noted that platforms' algorithms and financial incentives for creators encourage the posting of "outrageous" content.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham, speaking during a visit to Kyiv, said people who share footage glorifying dangerous driving are "doing something that's truly reprehensible." A Downing Street spokeswoman said the glorification of dangerous driving "for clips and entertainment is utterly disgraceful" and confirmed that the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, had made clear the content "should be removed in line with their legal obligations." Downing Street added that Ofcom has the government's "full backing to take tough action" against platforms that fail in their legal duties.
The warning follows a similar fatal incident in Ireland a week earlier, when five teenage boys died in a wrong-way crash on the M9 in Co Kildare, as did the family they collided with, who were heading to a wedding. Videos had emerged online purporting to show the lead-up to that crash, with footage appearing to show a patrol car travelling behind the vehicle with its blue lights activated.