What happened in the A66 crash that killed seven people?
The A66 crash, which happened in the early hours of Saturday near Middlesbrough, killed seven people when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way, having fled a police pursuit, collided head-on with a marked armed response vehicle [4, 5]. Among the dead were two police officers, PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, along with five young men, including 23-year-old Jakub Matusiak [1, 2, 4]. Twelve people have since been arrested as police probe suspected links to organised crime, while donations to the officers' families have passed £750,000 [3, 4]. The tragedy also prompted government calls for social media platforms to remove posts glorifying the dangerous driving involved [3, 5, 6].
Sources
- A66 crash death toll reaches seven as vigil turns disorderly and posts glorifying incident removed
- Balaclava-wearing youths gather with flares in hand to mark lives of dead ‘joyriders’… while across the city silent prayers are held for PCs killed in A66 horror — Daily Mail
- Seven Killed in A66 Wrong-Way Crash; Government Targets Social Media Posts Celebrating Dangerous Driving
- Twelve arrested over A66 wrong-way crash: Nine men and three women held after seven died including two police officers – as force probes second car ‘ramming properties’ — Daily Mail
- Minister tells social media firms to remove posts that ‘celebrate’ dangerous driving after A66 crash — The Guardian
- Teenage joyrider killed in A66 crash that claimed the lives of seven people including two armed officers posted TikTok videos of his high-speed police chases — Daily Mail
- Air India to test all pilots for banned substances — BBC World
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