Seventeen arrested over A66 wrong-way crash that killed five men and two officers

Five further arrests have been made in the A66 Middlesbrough crash investigation, bringing the total to 17. Seven people died when a Passat drove into a police vehicle.

A66 crash: home of victim's father was rammed minutes before seven died

A house rammed by a car in the early hours of Saturday morning belonged to the father of Cole Worthy, 17, one of five young men killed when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way struck a Cleveland Police armed response vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough, BBC News reports.

PC Tom Clough, 38, and PC Matthew Blades, 37, also died in the collision, which occurred at 03:39 BST. The other occupants of the Passat — Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, and Theo Rae, 17 — were also killed.

According to BBC News, police had received multiple reports of two cars driving dangerously around Middlesbrough before the crash. A Volvo XC60 was seen ramming properties in the area, including the semi-detached house in Acklam where Worthy's father lives. Neighbours, who declined to be identified, said Worthy sometimes stayed at the property. Locals reported hearing loud bangs at around 2am, with police filling the street throughout the weekend.

The BBC understands that Worthy and the four others set out in the Passat after the ramming of his father's home. Cleveland Police said they were linking the activities of the Volvo XC60 and the Passat. There is no suggestion that Worthy's father was involved in any criminal activity.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said officers had been pursuing the Passat for almost seven minutes after it was connected to earlier alleged criminal activity. The pursuit was abandoned ten seconds before the crash, when the vehicle turned on to the dual carriageway. Both cars were operating with cloned number plates but were identified through automated number plate recognition technology.

Five further arrests bring total to 17

Cleveland Police confirmed on Tuesday that five more people had been arrested as part of the investigation into the lead-up to the crash. Those five include a 16-year-old boy and two men aged 18 and 21, all held on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group. A 55-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, and a 23-year-old man on suspicion of making threats to kill.

The five arrests follow a wave of detentions on Monday, when nine men and three women aged between 18 and 61 were held across Teesside on a range of offences including possession of a firearm and participation in an organised crime group. The total number of people arrested in the investigation now stands at 17.

Two men charged

Two men have so far been charged. Kai Beattie, of Foxrush Court, Redcar, has been charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Cameron George, of Micklow Close, Redcar, has been charged with possession of class A and class B drugs with intent to supply, and possession of criminal property.

Status of others arrested

Among those previously arrested, three men aged 24, 19 and 35 remain in police custody, all held on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group and possession of an offensive weapon. A 21-year-old man arrested on the same suspicions, along with criminal damage, has been remanded on recall to prison. A 30-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and a 20-year-old man arrested on suspicion of threats to cause criminal damage and public order remain in custody.

A 26-year-old man has been charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs and possession of criminal property, and was remanded in custody ahead of his next court hearing.

A man aged 39 and a 47-year-old woman have been released on conditional bail after being arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm without a certificate, possession with intent to supply class A and class B drugs, and possession of class C drugs. An 18-year-old man has been released on unconditional bail following arrest on the same firearm and drugs suspicions. A 61-year-old woman has been released on conditional bail after being arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm without a certificate. A 39-year-old man arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill has also been released on conditional bail.

The red-brick semi-detached house in Acklam where the ramming took place has a smashed downstairs bay window, with bricks scattered beneath it, and a broken upstairs bedroom window.

Source: BBC News