The two serving police officers who sadly died after a collision during an alleged high speed pursuit have been pictured for the first time, while an investigation into their cause of death is underway
The two serving police officers killed in a horror crash near Middlesborough during a high speed chase have been pictured for the first time.
The Cleveland Police officers, named as PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough were not believed to have been directly involved in the pursuit, although were inside a different police vehicle that was crashed into by the fleeing Volkswagen Passat, according to a police statement. The vehicle was believed to have been using “cloned plates”, police say.
The five passengers inside the Volkswagen Passat also all passed away following the tragic collision, have been named as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18.
The family PC Tom Clough released the following statement:
“He was our hero with a fantastic of humour. Jumped into action whenever needed, and willing to help anyone for any reason. Proudly fought for his country to make the world a better place. Always on public duty throughout his short life.
“We as a family and Tom’s partner would like to express our sincere gratitude for the overwhelming support and condolences from friends, colleagues and the wider community”.
A police statement read: “Our initial enquiries have established Cleveland Police received intelligence regarding numerous incidents that were linked to a Volkswagen Passat. The Passat, which contained five male occupants, was later sighted and an armed response vehicle began a pursuit of the vehicle.
Analysis of the police vehicle in car footage shows the pursuit lasted just under seven minutes before the Passat travelled onto the A66 in South Bank, against the flow of traffic, at which point the pursuit was aborted by officers and they continued to travel on the correct side of the carriageway.
A short time after the pursuit ended, approximately 10 seconds later, the Passat collided with another police vehicle which was not involved in the pursuit but in the area to assist in a search for the Passat believed to be using cloned plates that had activated an ANPR camera.
It has been confirmed that following the collision at 3.39am, seven people sadly died. As reported yesterday, they included two Cleveland Police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough.
IOPC Director of Engagement Derrick Campbell said: “Our thoughts continue to be with the family and friends and all those affected by yesterday’s collision., We recognise the devastating impact the incident has had on those in the force, and the wider policing community, and offer our condolences.
“We have obtained initial accounts of officers involved in the pursuit, the incident log and in car footage of the incident. Work is ongoing to obtain additional material.
“IOPC investigators will continue to review and analyse all the evidence that is available to us. We will not be providing any further comment at this time.”