Five lads killed A66 fallacious means crash have been ‘recognized by fingerprints’
Teesside Coroner’s Court heard that Five young people inside a Volkswagen Passat that collided with a police vehicle on the A66 in South Bank in the early hours of Saturday needed specialist ID’ing
The five lads who were killed in the crash
The five lads killed in a Volkswagen Passat following a collision with a police vehicle after driving the wrong way down the A66 were identified through fingerprint analysis.
The inquests opened at Teesside Coroner’s Court into the deaths of Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Michael Robert Cahill and Jakub Matusiak, both 23. Police had named Mr Matusiak as Jacob.
Paul Appleton, area coroner for Teesside and Hartlepool, said there was a collision on the A66 in South Bank between a police vehicle and a Volkswagen Passat in the early hours of August 22. He told the hearing that “all occupants of both vehicles were sadly pronounced dead at the scene”.
In separate hearings, Mr Appleton said the young males were identified through fingerprint analysis, Teesside Live reports.
The causes of death were described as neck injuries for Mr Matusiak, head and torso injuries for Mr Cahill, head injuries for Mr Saddington and Mr Rae, and head and chest injuries for Mr Worthy.
Earlier in the day two and inquest was opened into the police officers who died in the crash.
PC Matthew Blades is one of the officers who lost his life in the A66 crash(Image: Cleveland Police)
They suffered head and neck injuries after their marked vehicle was hit by a car going the wrong way down a dual carriageway.
Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, died in a head-on collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough on Saturday (August 22). On Thursday (August 27) inquests into their deaths were opened and adjourned at Teesside Coroner’s Court.
In short, consecutive hearings, coroner Paul Appleton said Pc Blades was identified by his wife, and Pc Clough by his partner. The provisional cause of death was said to be head and neck injuries for Pc Blades, and neck injuries for Pc Clough.
Mr Appleton said that in the early hours of August 22 there was a collision on the A66 at South Bank between a police vehicle and a Volkswagen Passat.
He told the hearing that “all occupants of both vehicles were sadly pronounced dead at the scene”.
PC Tom Clough died due to neck injuries, the inquest heard
Mr Appleton said: “At this stage it is understood that there had been a police pursuit of the Volkswagen Passat. It entered the A66 carriageway against the flow of traffic, at which stage the pursuit was aborted.
“A short time after … the Volkswagen Passat collided with a police vehicle, which had not been directly involved in the prior pursuit.”
In the afternoon, inquests will open into the deaths of Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak – who were in the Passat and pronounced dead at the scene.
Tributes to the two officers killed in a dual carriageway crash have described them as a devoted father and football coach, and a fantastic former soldier who fought proudly for his country.
Pc Blades, 37, was a married father-of-two and dedicated football coach in his spare time.
He had recently joined Seaton Carew FC as a coach and was looking forward to teaching his son in its under-sevens Seahawks squad, the club said.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
