The five young men who died when a car being driven the wrong way along a dual carriageway collided head-on with a police vehicle have now been named locally.
Two police officers were also killed in the devastating crash on the A66 in Middlesbrough in the early hours of yesterday. PCs Matthew Blades, 38, and Tom Clough, 37, have since been praised for their courage after losing their lives while on duty.
The fatal Middlesbrough crash has drawn attention to a series of similar incidents reportedly connected to an online trend in which young drivers attempt to provoke police patrols into pursuits before posting footage of the chases on social media.
Those travelling in the VW Passat have been identified locally as Michael Ray, Theo Rae, Cole Worthy, Jakub Matusiak and Makai Saddington.
It later emerged that Mr Saddington had uploaded a number of TikTok videos in previous months which appeared to show him involved in high-speed police pursuits.
He and the others in the car are understood to have had close connections to the traveller community.
The group had reportedly become the subject of a police chase after officers began following what was described as a “suspicious” vehicle.
Doorbell camera footage from homes nearby shows the VW travelling at speed through streets in Middlesbrough at around 3.36am, before officers are said to have ended the pursuit as the car turned on to the A66.
Makai Saddington, 18, had posted videos on TikTok of him being chased by police over the past few months
Jakub Matusiak was described by his sister as her ‘best friend always and forever’
Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Worthy both died in the crash on Saturday night
Michael Ray was praised by those who knew him as a ‘lovely, down-to-earth lad’
The moment police are seen pursuing a car down a narrow road just minutes before seven people, including two police officers, were killed in a head-on smash
Just three minutes after the chase was caught on camera, at 3.39am, the car ploughed into the path of a different marked armed-response vehicle, which was on the correct side of the A66.
Cleveland Police lowered flags to half-mast at their Middlesbrough headquarters in tribute to their colleagues, who are understood not to have been part of the pursuit.
As an investigation into the incident continues, social media posts from the teenagers reveal some insight into their activities prior to the tragedy.
In one clip, filmed in May by a passenger and set to rap music, 18-year-old Mr Saddington is seen in an Audi being driven at speed through a housing estate with a police car’s blue lights flashing in pursuit.
The vehicle is then seen veering across a playing field in an apparent attempt to shake off the pursuers.
Another video on an account associated with him shows a green Nissan being driven around before being set alight, while separate images posted elsewhere show him and a friend posing in cars wearing black balaclavas.
The clips reflect a trend of young men filming themselves being pursued by police at high speed and posting the clips on social media in an attempt to get views and likes.
The crash in Middlesbrough comes just days after five teenagers died in a head-on collision on a motorway in Ireland.
The masked youngsters were in a stolen BMW travelling the wrong way down the M9 in County Kildare at 2am last Sunday.
Police had tried to pull over the car but it sped off the wrong way down the M9 to avoid a stinger device that had been deployed to stop the car.
The occupants of the other vehicle – three sisters and a seven-year-old boy – suffered serious injuries in the crash and remain in hospital.
Following news of Saturday’s crash in Middlesbrough, family and friends posted a series of tributes to the five teenagers.
The mother of Mr Saddington’s one-year-old son posted on social media: ‘What am I supposed to do without ur daft phone calls and u torching (sic) me life’s so cruel.’
Mr Saddington’s aunt Sharon Morgan posted online: ‘Today is a day I never thought I would have to face.
‘I’m heartbroken to say that we lost my beloved nephew today, our Makai. There are no words that can truly express the pain of losing someone so young, so loved, and so full of life.
‘You brought so much love and happiness into our family, and your memory will stay with us forever. This loss has left a space in our hearts that can never be filled.
‘Rest peacefully, my beautiful nephew. You will never be forgotten. Until we meet again, fly high love ya aunty Sharon…
‘Keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we try to get through this heartbreaking time, especially our Alisha, his Mam.’
Meanwhile, friends of Cole Worthy called his death ‘a massive devastation’ and another wrote: ‘Absolutely heartbroken, you are gonna be missed Cole, love u lots.’
He shared a friendship with Theo Rae, who also died in the crash – with the pair pictured together last December and often commenting on each other’s social media posts.
One commenter wrote of Theo that he was ‘taken way too soon’ and had a ‘heart of gold’, describing as someone who would have ‘done anything for anyone’.
Michael Ray was praised online as a ‘lovely, down to earth lad’.
The sister of Jakub Matusiak said her heart was ‘broken’ by the news, describing her sibling as her ‘best friend always and forever’.
A friend wrote he would be ‘missed by everyone who knows you’.
As more details emerged, householders in Lime Road – a mile from the crash site – told how they were woken by the noise as the stolen car ‘shot down’ the street, followed by police cars.
Makai Saddington posted videos on his TikTok of men in balaclavas driving cars at speed
In the video captured by a home security camera, two police cars follow just seconds later
Police officers at the scene of the fatal crash on the A66 in Middlesbrough
Neil Hutchison, 47, said: ‘You could tell from the noise that they were travelling at high speed.
‘Two cars went down the street and then a few seconds later there was a third, they were obviously going after another vehicle. It’s tragic that it ended with people dead.’
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller appeared close to tears as she told how, together with her deputy David Felton, she had visited the families of PC Blades and PC Clough to offer condolences and support ‘with this unimaginable loss’.
Paying tribute to the men, she said: ‘These were brave officers, protecting our communities and serving our residents, who didn’t return home to their families at the end of their shift.
‘This is an incredibly sad day for Cleveland. The loss has been felt across our communities, by our police family, and by our partner agencies.
‘My thoughts, and the thoughts of everybody here at Cleveland Police, are with their families, friends, colleagues and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.’
Lauren Somerville, chairman of the Cleveland Police Federation, said: ‘Words cannot describe the pain the Cleveland Police family is feeling today.
‘Our colleagues who should have been going home to their loved ones at the end of their shifts are not. That is just unfathomable.’
Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller named the two police officers killed as PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough during a police press conference on Saturday
A police cordon at the scene of a crash that killed two officers in Middlesbrough
Redcar MP Anna Turley, a government minister whose constituency covers the area, said of the officers: ‘They went to work to keep people safe, and they should have come home to their families.
‘Their loss will be felt deeply by their loved ones, fellow officers and right across the communities they served.’
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash.
Chief Constable Fuller added: ‘While this investigation is ongoing, and out of respect for all those who have lost loved ones, I would strongly urge people to avoid speculation and respect the privacy of the families.’
Residents said they were woken by ‘a fleet of ambulances, fire engines and police cars’ racing to the scene.
The North East Ambulance Service said 14 ambulances, specialist paramedics, a hazardous response team and a Great North Air Ambulance Service doctor attended.
A spokesman said: ‘Sadly, despite the best efforts of everyone attending, a number of patients died at the scene.’
Prime Minister Andy Burnham thanked the emergency services for their response in ‘incredibly difficult circumstances’.
Writing on X, he added: ‘My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of everyone involved.’
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘My thoughts are with the families and friends of those officers killed in the line of duty as well as those serving in Cleveland Police, the wider police family and all the emergency services who attended the scene.’
Craze that claimed five more young lives just a week ago
By Padraic Flanagan
It was feared last night that the A66 crash may be a copycat tragedy – thanks to the deadly TikTok craze that claimed the lives of five teenagers in a head-on motorway smash in the Irish Republic last week.
In that case, the youngsters, who were all wearing balaclavas in a stolen BMW travelling the wrong way down the country’s M9, died at the scene in Co Kildare in the early hours of Sunday.
The deaths of Joey Carthy, 15, Jack Kennedy, 17, Alex McCarthy, 16, Jeremy O’Brien, 18, and 17-year-old Kamil Pustkowski led to public fury at social media platforms after it emerged that the teenagers were filming themselves in the car.
That anger intensified on Thursday when TikTok declined an invitation to appear before an Irish parliamentary committee on media to discuss the latest craze of posting videos of people driving the wrong way down motorways.
Sisters Ella Hendricken, who is in her 20s, and Niamh and Alma Kinsella, in their 30s, as well as Alma’s seven-year-old son, Yemi, are being treated in hospital for serious injuries after their Hyundai was hit by the BMW.
The innocent victims, from Graiguecullen, Co Carlow, were on their way to Dublin to fly out for a family wedding in the UK when the teens smashed into their car. Three of the five teens killed in the M9 tragedy were buried on Friday. Two more funerals are due to take place today and on Tuesday.
Videos featuring youngsters in stolen cars trying to lure police into high-speed chases have become a macabre trend.
Mary Aiken, a professor of forensic cyber-psychology at the University of East London, told The Guardian: ‘While driving, they’re simultaneously filming and capturing content for posting later or live streaming. They have one foot in the real world and one foot in cyberspace They’re thinking about the likes… about kudos.’
