A66 crash: balloon release for Matusiak draws 200 as two officers mourned

Around 200 people gathered in Middlesbrough to mark the death of Jacob Matusiak, one of five who died in a wrong-way A66 crash that killed two police officers.

Balloon release for A66 crash suspect draws crowd of 200 in Middlesbrough

Around 200 people, including approximately 20 masked youths, gathered in South Bank, Middlesbrough, to release balloons and set off rockets and orange smoke in tribute to Jacob Matusiak, one of five men who died after a Volkswagen Passat travelled the wrong way along the A66 last weekend. The crash also killed PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, an Iraq War veteran, both of Cleveland Police.

Daily Express reporter Adam Toms has condemned the public gathering, arguing that the scale of the tribute should be a cause for serious concern. "That this many people were prepared to pay tribute to him should terrify us," Toms wrote. "They clearly do not care about the law or its selfless servants."

The five men in the Passat were identified as Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, Michael Robert Cahill, 23, and Jacob Matusiak, 23. Four of the five had between them accumulated 37 criminal convictions, according to Toms. Reports suggest the vehicle was being driven the wrong way in order to generate social media content.

Matusiak's cousin was quoted as saying that if the police pursuit had been "called off earlier, lives might have been saved." The remark drew sharp criticism, including from Toms, who argued that the deaths would have been avoided had the men not driven against oncoming traffic in the first place.

Home Office minister Anna Turley paid tribute to the five men who died in the crash. She stated she had been asked to do so by Cleveland Police, a claim that itself drew criticism from commentators who argued a minister should have declined the request.

Retired Derbyshire Police superintendent Kul Mahar told the Daily Express that the deaths of the two Cleveland officers "show the ever present risk that police officers face on a daily basis."

PC Clough had served in the Iraq War before joining the police. PC Blades was 37 at the time of his death. Both have been widely described as having died while protecting the public.

Toms argued in his piece that the families of the five men in the car should mark their deaths privately, and should reflect on whether any responsibility lay with their upbringing. He stopped short of directing any legal conclusions, noting that those who died cannot be put on trial.

The A66 crash has prompted wider debate in the UK about road safety, the conduct of police pursuits, and the boundaries of public commemoration for individuals who died in the course of committing what critics have characterised as dangerous and criminal acts.

Source: Daily Express