No tactical contact ahead of fatal collision, IOPC finds
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has established a detailed timeline of the events leading up to the collision which killed seven people, including two Cleveland Police officers, following a pursuit in Middlesbrough.
The IOPC said its investigation had established that the pursuit began at 3.33am on 22 August after officers sighted a Volkswagen Passat linked to a number of incidents.
Six minutes and 12 seconds later, at 3.39am, the Passat slowed as it approached a junction on the A66 at South Bank, braked heavily and turned onto the wrong carriageway, travelling against the flow of traffic.
Analysis of police in-car footage shows the pursuing police vehicle did not follow the Passat onto the wrong carriageway.
Instead, the police vehicle’s blue lights were turned off and its driver continued on the correct carriageway.
About 17 seconds later, the Passat collided with another police vehicle travelling on the correct carriageway.
The IOPC said there was currently no evidence that police made tactical contact with the Passat at the time of the collision and confirmed that no stinger was used during the pursuit.
The collision killed Cleveland Police officers PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, along with the five occupants of the Passat – Michael Cahill, Theo Rae, Cole Worthy, Jakub Matusiak and Makai Saddington.
A forensic collision investigator is now examining methods of establishing the speeds of both vehicles at the time of the crash.
The IOPC has also commissioned two expert reports, one examining the collision reconstruction and another assessing the policies and procedures governing police pursuits.
IOPC Director of Engagement Emily Barry said the investigation was focused on establishing “precisely what happened in the run up to the tragic incident”. She said the officers involved were currently being treated as witnesses.
The IOPC said it was aware of speculation about how the collision occurred but stressed that there was “no suggestion” at this stage that it resulted from direct police contact or that a stinger had been used.
The watchdog said the investigation was expected to take “months, rather than weeks” because of the volume of information being reviewed and the expert reports being commissioned.
The investigation began after a mandatory referral from Cleveland Police, with IOPC investigators attending the scene and post-incident procedures within hours of the collision.