BREAKING: A66 CRASH INVESTIGATION TAKES SH0CKING TURN AS POLICE ARREST 12 PEOPLE AND REVEAL POSSIBLE ORGANISED CRIME LINKS BEHIND HORR0R COLLISION THAT KI-LLED SEVEN
Five young men who died in the A66 crash which also killed two police officers may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity”, police have said.
Cleveland Police said the offences range from possession of a firearm to participating in the activities of an organised crime group. Four of those killed in the car which hit the officers had previous convictions, the force added.
Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were killed in Teesside when a Volkswagen Passat – which had been pursued by police – was driven the wrong way along the A66 near Middlesbrough on Saturday, August 22 and hit their marked armed response vehicle.
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PC Matthew Blades, of Cleveland Police, died in the crash on the A66
The five people travelling in the Volkswagen were also pronounced dead at the scene. They have been named as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and 18-year-old Makai Saddington.
Four of the occupants of the Passat had previous police convictions. One had admitted assaulting a police officer and also appeared in a social media video of a police chase.
Makai Saddington, 18, pleaded guilty to assaulting the officer and causing racially aggravated alarm or distress to a second PC on June 9.
He appeared before Teesside Magistrates’ Court on July 17 where he admitted the two charges and received a 12-month conditional discharge. The teenager was also ordered to pay £50 in compensation.
The 18-year-old also had previous convictions for possession of a controlled class C drug on May 31 2025 and possession of a knife in a public place on May 31 2025.
Cole Worthy, 16, had seven previous convictions dating back to 2024. These include; using threatening abusive language to cause harassment, alarm and distress on October 27 2024, failing to surrender to custody on May 14 2025, assaulting a police officer on April 27 2025.
He also had several driving convictions for driving without a licence, using a vehicle without insurance, driving without reasonable consideration and driving using a mobile phone all on June 7 2026.
Jacob Matusiak, 23, had two previous driving convictions for using a vehicle without insurance and driving without a licence, both on March 22 2026.
Theo Rae, 17, had twelve shoplifting offences between October 21 2023 and May 4 2024 and four convictions for thefts from motor vehicle offences between January 31 2024 and April 13 2024. In the same year he was convicted of possession of cannabis on April 22 2024 and aggravated vehicle taking on May 16 2024.
A year later he was again convicted of aggravated vehicle taking on January 2 2025.On April 30 2025 he assaulted a female police officer in Middlesborough. He pleaded guilty to that offence at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on August 12 and was handed a 12-month conditional discharge and made to pay £100 in compensation, court records show.
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PC Tom Clough, one of two Cleveland Police officers killed in the A66 crash
Police said that on the day of the collision, the Passat had earlier been sought in connection with a Volvo XC60 that was seen ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area.
Both cars had cloned number plates but were picked up by automated number plate recognition technology. The Volvo XC60 has since been traced and recovered in Middlesbrough.
Cleveland Police said there is currently no evidence to indicate that filming of the activities that took place on Friday night and Saturday morning was done for the purposes of TikTok.
Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox, who is responsible for the strategic leadership of the investigation, says the investigation has been “fast-moving and complex, with significant links to serious and organised criminal activity.”
“The events of that tragic night will have a lasting and profound impact on the Cleveland area and the communities we seek to protect,” he added.
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(L-R) Makai Saddington, 18, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, Michael Robert Cahill, 23, and Jacob Matusiak, 23, were all pronounced dead at the scene
“We have a duty to respond to, and thoroughly investigate, the serious criminal activity that resulted in this fatal incident and to bring all those responsible to justice.”
Assistant Chief Constable Fox said Cleveland Police will continue work in the weeks and months to “tackle serious and organised crime”.
He added: “Officers and staff across Cleveland have shown incredible resilience in continuing their work in the face of tragedy.
“Two of their colleagues lost their lives while serving the people of Cleveland and, while the impact will be felt by our people for a long time to come, they have continued to act with the upmost professionalism.
“I am also extremely grateful for the support we have received, and continue to receive, from the public of Cleveland and our wider police family.”
PC Tom Clough, who previously served with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), has been remembered by his commanding officer as “fun-loving” with a “cheeky nature” alongside his “professional excellence”.
Carmel College in Darlington, where PC Matthew Blades formerly worked as an English teacher before joining Cleveland Police, said he was intelligent, kind and a valued colleague who “gave generously of himself to the young people in his care”.
SOURCE: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/a66-wrong-way-crash-arrest-37576274
