Cleveland Police believe the A66 crash that killed PCs Tom Clough, 38, and Matthew Blades, 37, plus five youths in a Passat may have been sparked by a Middlesbrough gangland fall out
The deadly A66 crash that killed two police officers and five men in a stolen car is feared to have been triggered by a gangland “fall out” between teenage rivals in Middlesbrough’s drug underworld.
Cleveland Police are investigating the tragedy near Middlesbrough as the devastating outcome of a local turf war, with intelligence suggesting it began with a ram-raid on a family home – and spiralled into a doomed “revenge mission” just 40 minutes later.
At around 3am last Saturday, a Volvo XC60 repeatedly slammed into a semi-detached property in Acklam, Middlesbrough, causing major damage, including collapsed brickwork and smashed windows. The house belongs to Gye Worthy, the father of 17-year-old Cole Worthy.
There is nothing to suggest Mr Worthy was involved in any criminality linked to his son. Cole Worthy is believed to have been convinced a rival was behind the attack and set out to track down the Volvo.
Sources in Acklam told the Mirror that the suspected rival “had once been a school friend of Worthy but they had fallen out and become bitter rivals”. Worthy then packed into a Volkswagen Passat with four others – Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak – and headed out, reportedly using cloned number plates.
Both the Volvo and the Passat triggered ANPR cameras, alerting traffic police. Officers later spotted the speeding Passat and began a pursuit.
But as the driver reportedly tried to break away, the car took a catastrophic turn onto the A66 at South Bank – travelling at speed the wrong way down the dual carriageway. Police called off the chase because of the extreme danger to the public.
Just 10 seconds later, at about 3.39am, the Passat smashed head-on into a marked Cleveland Police armed response vehicle travelling legally on the road. The two officers inside were not part of the active chase.
PC Tom Clough, 38, and PC Matthew Blades, 37, were killed, along with all five occupants of the Passat. “Two worlds collided on that road,” a former Cleveland Police detective told the Mirror.
“The officers were two of the most decent men you could ever wish to meet.” The wider probe into organised crime in the area, which was sparked following the horror crash, has now led to 17 arrests.
In the days after the crash, the area has been rocked by further disorder, including five vehicles – one believed to be a stolen £80,000 Porsche Cayenne – being torched in a farmer’s field. One source told the Mirror: “They are a serious organised crime gang… major players in drug supply and serious criminal activity,” while another claimed groups use “youths of 16 and 17 as their foot soldiers”.
Cleveland Police say extra officers have been drafted in from other forces, as the investigation continues.
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