Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Aug 25

Cleveland Police Arrest 5 More in A66 Crash Probe as Rammed House Linked to 17-Year-Old Victim

Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Aug 25

Cleveland Police Arrest 5 More in A66 Crash Probe as Rammed House Linked to 17-Year-Old Victim

Q: Why was the assisting officers' vehicle in the direct path of the fleeing suspects seconds after the chase ended?

There is no confirmed evidence yet that the assisting officers’ car was deliberately placed in the Passat’s path. The established account is that the vehicle carrying PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough was not part of the active pursuit but was in the South Bank area to help search for the Passat after it had been flagged by ANPR and linked to earlier incidents. The IOPC says the chase lasted just under seven minutes and was abandoned when the Passat went the wrong way onto the A66. About 10 seconds later, the Passat hit the officers’ marked armed response vehicle, which was travelling on the correct side of the dual carriageway. Several reports, including from the BBC, say the police car “just happened” to be in the area assisting with the search. That means the most likely explanation, based on what has been released, is timing and positioning during a fast-moving search rather than a tactical interception. In other words, once the Passat entered the A66 against traffic, it encountered another police unit already on the road nearby. Why that unit was on that exact stretch of carriageway at that exact moment is one of the central issues the IOPC investigation will examine. Until investigators review vehicle movements, radio logs, command decisions and GPS or in-car footage, any firmer answer would be speculation.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 25

Five new arrests — including a 16-year-old boy and men aged 18, 21, 23 and 55 — were made in the investigation into the A66 crash that killed seven people; all remain in custody.
Police said the latest suspects were held on offences including organised crime group participation, assisting an offender and threats to kill, taking the wider probe beyond the fatal collision itself.
A house rammed before the crash belonged to the father of Cole Worthy, 17, one of the five Passat occupants killed; investigators are linking the Volvo XC60 seen hitting properties with the Passat.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said officers pursued the Passat for nearly seven minutes after it was tied to earlier alleged criminal activity, then abandoned the chase 10 seconds before the 03:39 BST crash.
The wrong-way collision on the A66 killed PCs Tom Clough, 38, and Matthew Blades, 37, along with five young men, and has already led to 12 earlier arrests and two charges.