Seven people died on a crash that occurred on A66
The A66 crash killed five young men and two Cleveland Police officers in the early hours of Saturday. (Image for illustration purposes only) Image via Pixabay_akreyche

Seven people, including two Cleveland Police officers and five young men, were killed on the A66 near Middlesbrough on Saturday, 22 August, when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way collided with a marked armed-response vehicle.

According to reports, the crash followed a police pursuit of the Passat, which was believed to have cloned registration plates. Online anger intensified after older TikTok videos allegedly linked some of the five men to reckless driving and police pursuits, prompting a fierce debate over social-media-fuelled 'joyrides.'

Collision at A66

The collision happened at about 3.39am in South Bank, near Middlesbrough. The Passat was travelling against the flow of traffic when it struck the police vehicle, which was travelling in the correct direction. All seven people died at the scene.

The five occupants of the Passat were Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Cole Robert Worthy, 17. The officers were PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.

Cleveland Police said the officers' vehicle was not part of the earlier pursuit. The IOPC has opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

How the Police Pursuit Ended in A66 Wrong-Way Crash

Police had received reports concerning a suspicious vehicle, with an ANPR camera flagging the Passat over suspected cloned plates. The pursuit lasted just under seven minutes, but officers abandoned it when the vehicle entered the A66 travelling in the wrong direction.

The fatal collision followed roughly 10 seconds later, according to investigators. Ring doorbell footage from a nearby residential road also showed the Passat speeding while police vehicles followed it minutes before the crash.

Authorities have urged the public not to speculate while the investigation continues.

TikTok Driving Videos Fuel 'Joyride' Claims Online

The online reaction changed after previously posted social media videos involving some of the deceased resurfaced.

Videos associated with Makai Saddington appeared to show high-speed driving and police pursuits, while a TikTok posted by Jacob Matusiak in May appeared to show him driving rapidly through a residential area before moving onto green space.

The material has fuelled claims that the A66 crash was connected to a wider culture of young drivers filming dangerous behaviour for TikTok views and online attention. However, the videos do not establish precisely what happened inside the Passat immediately before the crash.

That distinction has done little to slow the backlash.

'No Sympathy' Posts Spark Debate Over Five Deaths

Meanwhile, the internet has been tearing apart the case on social media. One widely circulated social-media reaction said, 'I've zero sympathy... none.' The post accused the five of choosing a 'TikTok joyride' and argued that their actions had deadly consequences for two officers who were simply doing their jobs.

Other comments echoed phrases including 'actions have consequences', 'no tears from me for these boys' and 'zero sympathy'.

The anger has been accompanied by widespread tributes to PCs Blades and Clough. Blades was remembered as a devoted husband, father and youth football coach, while Clough was a former soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Yet all seven deaths remain part of the IOPC investigation. No final findings have been released on the exact speeds, who was driving the Passat or the motivation behind the alleged reckless behaviour.

The A66 crash has therefore become more than a devastating road collision online, raising fresh questions about dangerous driving, social-media attention and how quickly public grief can turn into judgement.

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