A66 Crash Families Pay Emotional Tributes to Officers
The A66 crash that killed seven people near Middlesbrough has brought heartbreaking new tributes from the families of two Cleveland Police officers who died while on duty.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were travelling in a marked armed-response vehicle when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way along the A66 collided head-on with them at about 3.39am on Saturday, 22 August.
The crash also killed all five people travelling in the Volkswagen.
On Sunday, the families of the two officers publicly spoke about the men they had lost. PC Blade’s wife described the pain of losing her husband as “beyond words”, while PC Clough’s family remembered him as “our hero.”
The emotional statements have added a deeply personal dimension to a tragedy that has shocked Cleveland Police, the wider policing community and people across Teesside.
Who Were PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough?
PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough were serving officers with Cleveland Police.
Both were working when their marked armed-response vehicle was struck on the A66.
The officers were not in the police vehicle that had originally been pursuing the Volkswagen. Reporting based on the developing investigation says their vehicle was travelling correctly along the dual carriageway when the Passat approached from the wrong direction.
Their deaths have prompted an outpouring of grief.
For their families, however, the public descriptions of two police officers killed in the line of duty only tell a small part of the story.
They lost husbands, fathers, sons and loved ones.
PC Matthew Blades Remembered as Devoted Husband and Father
PC Matthew Blades’ wife, Helen, paid an intensely personal tribute to her husband.
She described the devastation caused by his death and spoke about the enormous hole his absence will leave in the family’s life. Her description of the pain as being “beyond words” has become one of the defining expressions of grief following the collision.
Blades was remembered not simply for his police work but for the person he was when he was away from the uniform.
He was a devoted family man and was also involved in youth football, coaching at Seaton Carew FC. The club community has been among those mourning his death.
That involvement illustrates the wider impact of his loss.
He served his community professionally as a police officer and personally through activities such as youth sport.
PC Tom Clough’s Family Remembers ‘Our Hero’
Clough’s family also released a deeply emotional tribute.
They described the 38-year-old officer as “our hero” and remembered his commitment to serving others.
Clough had previously served in the military, including deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, before his career in policing.
His family spoke about a man whose public service stretched across different stages of his life.
Those details have made the tragedy particularly poignant.
Both officers went to work that night expecting to return home when their shifts ended.
They never did.
What Happened in the A66 Crash?
The collision occurred in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, during the early hours of Saturday.
According to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, Cleveland Police had received intelligence about a Volkswagen Passat linked to several incidents.
Police later spotted the Passat, which contained five male occupants, and an armed-response vehicle began pursuing it.
The IOPC has now reviewed in-car police footage and established that the pursuit lasted just under seven minutes.
The Passat then entered the A66, travelling against the flow of traffic.
At that point, the pursuing officers aborted the pursuit and remained on the correct side of the carriageway.
The Passat subsequently collided with the marked police vehicle carrying PC Blades and PC Clough.
According to reporting on the watchdog’s findings, the collision happened roughly 10 seconds after the pursuit had been abandoned.
No one in either vehicle survived.
Five People in Volkswagen Also Named
Cleveland Police have now publicly identified the five people who were travelling in the Volkswagen.
They were Michael Robert Cahill, 23; Theo Rae, 17; Cole Robert Worthy, 17; Jacob Matusiak, 23; and Makai Saddington, 18, according to ITV’s report of the force’s announcement.
Their families are also receiving support from specially trained officers.
Friends and relatives have posted their tributes online as their communities come to terms with five more young lives lost in the collision.
The tragedy therefore involves seven grieving families.
While questions about the events before the collision will inevitably arise, they should be kept separate from the grief of the relatives who have lost loved ones.
Tributes Paid to Five Young Men
Tributes have begun appearing for the five people who died in the Passat.
Relatives and friends have shared photographs, memories and messages of grief on social media, while memorial events and balloon releases have reportedly been planned for some of those who died.
Makai Saddington’s family spoke of the devastating pain of losing someone so young.
Friends of Theo Rae and Cole Worthy have also remembered their personalities and the memories they shared, while tributes have been posted for Michael Cahill and Jacob Matusiak.
The tributes underline the human scale of the disaster.
Seven people died within seconds.
Their families will live with the consequences for years.
IOPC Investigation Examining Police Pursuit
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is independently investigating what happened before the collision.
The inquiry followed a mandatory referral from Cleveland Police because the deaths occurred following police contact.
The watchdog says investigators attended both the crash scene and the post-incident procedures and have started reviewing evidence.
Its initial investigation has already established several important facts.
Intelligence linked the Passat to numerous incidents.
Police subsequently located it.
An armed-response vehicle pursued it for just under seven minutes.
When the Passat entered the A66 against the flow of traffic, officers terminated the pursuit and remained on the correct carriageway.
The investigation is continuing to obtain and analyse additional material.
That means there are still unanswered questions, and conclusions about responsibility or individual decisions should not be drawn before investigators establish the full sequence of events.
Police Vehicle Carrying Officers Was Not the Pursuing Car
This distinction is especially important.
PC Blades and PC Clough were travelling in a marked police armed-response vehicle, but available reporting indicates that their vehicle was not the one actively pursuing the Volkswagen.
Their car was travelling in the correct direction when the Passat came towards them on the wrong side of the dual carriageway.
This incident is one of the details that the IOPC investigation will help place in the full timeline.
Investigators will examine police footage, communications, vehicle movements and other evidence before reaching conclusions.
Cleveland Police Mourning Two Colleagues
The crash has had an enormous impact on Cleveland Police.
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller described Blades and Clough as brave officers who were protecting communities and serving local residents when they died.
The Cleveland Police Federation has also spoken about the scale of the grief.
Federation chairwoman Lauren Somerville said colleagues who should have returned to their loved ones after their shifts did not come home, describing the situation as almost impossible to comprehend.
Police forces across Britain and Northern Ireland have sent messages of support.
That reaction reflects the particular effect an on-duty death has across policing.
Officers understand that routine shifts can become dangerous without warning.
Flowers and Tributes Left Near Crash Scene
Members of the public have begun leaving flowers close to the scene.
Flags have also been lowered as the police force and community mark the deaths.
The growing memorials provide somewhere for people who did not personally know those killed to express sympathy and solidarity with their families.
Prime Minister and Home Secretary Respond
The tragedy has also prompted responses from senior political figures.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was devastated by the deaths and urged people not to speculate while investigators establish what happened. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was thinking of everyone affected.
Redcar MP Anna Turley emphasised that the officers went to work to keep others safe and should have returned home to their families.
Local councillors, other police forces and emergency-service personnel have echoed those messages.
Why People Should Avoid Speculation
A tragedy of this scale inevitably generates questions.
How did the Passat end up travelling the wrong way?
Why was it being pursued?
Could anything have prevented the collision?
What happened during those final seconds?
Those are legitimate questions.
But they are also exactly the questions investigators are now examining.
Social media footage reportedly showing part of the pursuit does not necessarily provide the complete context needed to determine what happened.
The IOPC has access to evidence that members of the public do not, including police in-car footage and operational information. Its investigation is ongoing.
Reporting should therefore distinguish clearly between confirmed facts and claims that remain unverified.
A66 Closure Continues to Affect the Area
The crash resulted in significant disruption around South Bank while investigators examined the scene.
The A66 was closed in both directions between Normanby Road and Church Lane in Eston, with police carrying out detailed collision-investigation work.
A Section 60 order providing officers with additional stop-and-search powers was also introduced in an area around the crash scene until Sunday evening.
Drivers should continue checking official travel information because restrictions can change as investigative work progresses.
A Community Facing an Enormous Loss
The numbers alone are shocking:
Seven people dead.
Two serving police officers.
Five people aged between 17 and 23.
But numbers do not capture what happens afterwards.
Parents have lost children.
Children have lost parents.
Partners have lost the people with whom they expected to spend their lives.
Friends and colleagues have lost people they expected to see again.
For Cleveland Police, there will also be the challenge of continuing to serve the community while officers themselves are grieving.
The family statements released on Sunday make that human cost impossible to overlook.
What Happens Next in the Investigation?
The IOPC will continue to analyse evidence relating to the police pursuit and the circumstances immediately before the collision.
Investigators are expected to examine vehicle footage, police communications and other available evidence.
Cleveland Police will meanwhile continue supporting the families of all seven people who died.
The process could take time.
A collision involving multiple deaths, an active police pursuit and two serving officers requires careful reconstruction.
What investigators ultimately establish will be important.
But for the families, an investigation cannot change the central fact that seven people are missing.
Conclusion
The A66 crash near Middlesbrough has become even more heartbreaking as families have spoken publicly about the people behind the names.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat travelling against the flow of traffic collided with their marked armed-response vehicle at 3.39am on Saturday.
PC Blade’s wife has described the pain of losing him as “beyond words.” PC Clough’s family remembered him simply and powerfully as “our hero.”
Five people travelling in the Passat also died, and their families and friends have begun sharing their tributes.
Meanwhile, the IOPC investigation has established that the police pursuit lasted just under seven minutes and was abandoned when the Passat entered the A66 travelling in the wrong direction.
There will be difficult questions about what happened before the collision.
Those questions need evidence-based answers.
For now, however, the strongest message coming from Middlesbrough is one of grief: seven families have lost loved ones, while a police force and wider community are mourning a tragedy whose impact will be felt for a long time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who were the police officers killed in the A66 crash?
They were PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, both serving with Cleveland Police.
How many people died in the Middlesbrough A66 collision?
Seven people died: the two police officers and five occupants of a Volkswagen Passat.
When did the A66 crash happen?
The collision happened at approximately 3.39am on Saturday, 22 August 2026, in South Bank near Middlesbrough.
Was there a police pursuit before the crash?
Yes. The IOPC says a police vehicle pursued the Volkswagen for just under seven minutes. Officers aborted the pursuit when the car entered the A66 against the flow of traffic.
Were PC Blades and PC Clough involved in the pursuit?
Available reporting indicates their marked armed-response vehicle was not the vehicle carrying out the pursuit. It was travelling correctly on the A66 when the collision occurred.
Who is investigating the A66 crash?
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an independent investigation following a mandatory referral from Cleveland Police
