Conflict7 Dead on Wrong Side of A66: Pursuit Aborted 10 Seconds Before ImpactAired August 23, 2026 at 6:52 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Seven people died in seconds on the0:02wrong side of the road. Two serving0:04police officers and five young men, all0:07pronounced dead at the scene on a dual0:08carriageway that carries tens of0:10thousands a day after a head-on0:11collision between a car going the wrong0:13way and a police vehicle going the right0:15way.0:16How did an aborted pursuit still end0:18with a second police crew taking the0:19impact 10 seconds later? The toll was0:21seven with no survivors. On the A66 at0:24Southbank near Middlesbrough at about0:2603:39 on [music] the 22nd of August, a0:28Volkswagen Passat carrying five people0:29traveling the wrong way on the dual0:31carriageway struck a marked Cleveland0:32police armed response vehicle traveling0:34correctly. Everyone in both vehicles was0:36pronounced dead [music] where they came0:37to rest.0:39The impact was on the A66 dual0:41carriageway at Southbank between the0:43junctions with Normanby Road and Church0:45Lane in the Eston area. [music]0:47The road was closed in both directions0:48for investigation and repairs with0:50closures continuing into the 23rd and0:5224th.0:54In one transcript, [music] the Passat0:55was rendered as Pat. The vehicle was a0:57Volkswagen Passat. The two officers were1:00PC Matthew Blades, [music] 37, a married1:02father of two and football coach, and PC1:04Tom Clough, 38, an army veteran who1:07served in Iraq [music] and Afghanistan.1:09Both were on duty in the marked armed1:10response vehicle on the correct side of1:12the road. Tributes have described Clough1:14as our hero. The five in the Passat were1:16formally identified as Michael Robert1:18[music] Cahill, 23, Jacob Madziac, also1:21rendered Jakub Madziac, 23, Theo Ray,1:2417, [music] Maciej Sadington, 18, and1:26Cole Robert Worthy, reported as 16 in1:28some accounts and 17 in others with that1:31variation still unresolved. All five1:33were males in their late teens to early1:3420s. The vehicle that killed the1:36officers was not the one pursuing them.1:38[music]1:40had activated an automatic number plate1:42recognition camera with cloned plates1:44with intelligence linking it to several1:46prior incidents. [music] An armed1:48response vehicle began a pursuit that1:49lasted just under 7 minutes. Footage1:52from the Lime Road area around 3:361:54appears to show that pursuit at speed1:56through residential [music] streets. The1:58Passat then entered the A66 at South2:00Bank against the flow of traffic. At2:02that point, the pursuit was aborted and2:04the pursuing vehicle continued on the2:05correct side. [music] About 10 seconds2:07later, the Passat, still traveling the2:09wrong way, collided head-on with a2:10different police vehicle, the one2:12carrying Blades and Cloth, which had not2:14been part of the original pursuit, but2:15was in the area assisting the search.2:16[music] Both vehicles were destroyed on2:18impact. No other vehicle was confirmed2:21as involved in the fatal impact itself.2:23>> [music]2:23>> Two timestamps have circulated for the2:25same moment. 03:392:28and about 03:40 both [music] point to2:30about 03:39 BST and descriptions vary2:33between marked armed response vehicle2:35and police car, but agree the police2:37vehicle was marked and traveling [music]2:38correctly. What has not been confirmed2:40publicly is whether exact speeds or2:42impairment involving alcohol or drugs.2:45Toxicology, [music] collision2:46reconstruction, and speed analysis are2:48pending and have not been published,2:50[music] nor has the precise reason the2:52Passat was on the wrong side or for what2:53distance.3:00Specialist family liaison officers were3:02deployed to all seven bereaved [music]3:04families and the chief constable visited3:06the officers' families with the deputy3:08chief constable. A mandatory referral3:10was made after deaths following police3:12contact [music] and the Independent3:13Office for Police Conduct declared an3:15independent investigation in the early3:17hours of the 22nd, [music]3:18noted at about 06:03. Investigators have3:22obtained initial officer accounts,3:23[music] the incident log, and in-car3:25footage and are examining the sighting,3:27the ANPR activation, the intelligence3:30linkage, the pursuit, the decision to3:32[music] abort, and the subsequent3:33collision with the second vehicle.3:35Cleveland police are also investigating3:37and cooperating. [music]3:38Separate condolences describe the loss3:40as devastating and tragic, paying3:43tribute [music] to officers who went to3:44work to keep people safe and should have3:46come home, and urging avoidance of3:48speculation while families are3:49supported. The [music] consequences go3:51beyond the carriageway. Two families of3:53serving officers and five families of3:55young men face linked bereavement. A3:57[music] force has lost two colleagues on3:59a single shift and a daily artery was4:01shut for investigation and repair4:03[music] work. The collision also tests4:05pursuit protocol where a pursuit is4:06correctly aborted because of wrong-way4:08danger, yet the danger transfers to4:10another crew moments later [music] on4:11the same road. No public timeline has4:13been released for a preliminary update4:15or final report from the Independent4:17Office for Police Conduct. [music] The4:19full chain from ANPR activation through4:21linkage to pursuit authorization and the4:23abort decision, the complete wrong-way4:25sequence and [music] final4:26reconciliation of the age variation4:28remain to be confirmed.4:29Like and follow for more stories that4:31matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗