Five young men killed when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way along the A66 collided head-on with a police vehicle near Middlesbrough have been named locally as friends and relatives pay tribute to those who died.
Makai Saddington, Cole Worthy, Theo Rae, Michael Cahill and a fifth man identified by friends as Jacob have been named through local reports and social-media tributes following Saturday’s collision.
Cleveland Police has not yet formally released the identities of the five occupants of the Volkswagen, meaning the names remain subject to official confirmation.
The two Cleveland Police officers killed in the other vehicle have been formally identified as PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough.
All seven people were pronounced dead at the scene following the collision on the A66 at South Bank at around 3.39am.
The Volkswagen had earlier been pursued by police before entering the A66 travelling in the wrong direction and subsequently colliding head-on with the marked police vehicle.
PC Blades and PC Clough were travelling in the correct direction and were not in the vehicle which had originally been pursuing the Passat.
Makai Saddington
Makai Saddington, 18, has been named locally as one of the five people travelling in the Volkswagen.
BPI News has independently reviewed social-media footage showing Saddington driving vehicles at speed.
BPI News has also seen footage and images showing him inside cars while wearing a black balaclava.
Other material associated with Saddington appears to show vehicles being driven at speed during encounters involving police.
One clip reportedly filmed in May shows an Audi being driven at speed through a residential area while a police vehicle follows with its blue lights activated, before the vehicle travels across a grassed area.
Another video from an account associated with Saddington shows a green Nissan being driven before it is later shown on fire.
The footage reviewed by BPI News does not establish the circumstances of every incident, whether vehicles shown in the material were stolen or whether criminal offences were committed by Saddington in connection with individual clips.
It does, however, allow BPI News to independently confirm that footage exists showing Saddington himself driving at speed and appearing in vehicles while wearing a balaclava.
Saddington was also the father of a young child, with tributes posted following his death.
Cole Worthy
Cole Worthy has been named locally as another of the five people killed in the Volkswagen.
Reports have given his age as 17.
BPI News has found that Cleveland Police previously issued a missing-person appeal on 16 May 2025 concerning a 16-year-old Middlesbrough boy named Cole Worthy.
Police appealed for information from the public to help locate him.
Theo Rae And Michael Cahill
Theo Rae and Michael Cahill have also been named locally among those believed to have been travelling in the Volkswagen.
Their identities have not yet been formally released by Cleveland Police.
The force has said the families of those who died are being supported by specialist family liaison officers while formal identification procedures continue.
Friends Pay Tribute To Jacob
The fifth person has been identified by friends on social media as Jacob.
BPI News has seen tributes from friends mourning his death and speaking about how much they miss him.
His full name and age have not yet been established, and Cleveland Police has not formally confirmed his identity.
The tributes are among a growing number of messages being posted for the five young men following the collision.
PC Matthew Blades And PC Tom Clough
Cleveland Police has formally identified the two officers killed in the other vehicle as PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough.
Both were uniformed officers travelling in a marked police vehicle which was heading in the correct direction along the A66 when it was struck by the Volkswagen.
The officers were not in the vehicle which had originally been pursuing the Passat.
Flags were lowered to half-mast at Cleveland Police headquarters following their deaths.
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller described the officers as “brave officers” who had been protecting and serving their communities when they died.
She said the deaths had been felt throughout Cleveland’s communities and the wider police family, and that she and her deputy had visited both officers’ families to offer support.
What Happened Before The Crash
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has launched an investigation following a mandatory referral from Cleveland Police.
Initial information provided by the watchdog indicates officers spotted what was considered a suspicious vehicle and began a pursuit.
The Volkswagen Passat subsequently entered the A66 travelling in the wrong direction.
The pursuit was discontinued when the Passat went the wrong way along the road, according to reports, before the Volkswagen collided head-on with the marked police vehicle carrying PC Blades and PC Clough.
Doorbell footage reportedly captured the Passat travelling at speed through streets in Middlesbrough around three minutes before the fatal collision.
Residents in Lime Road, around a mile from the crash scene, also described being woken by vehicles travelling at speed and police sirens shortly before the crash.
The IOPC investigation will examine the police contact, the pursuit and the circumstances surrounding the subsequent collision.
Seven People Died At The Scene
North East Ambulance Service mounted a major emergency response after being called at 3.39am.
Fourteen ambulance resources were deployed, including emergency ambulance crews, a specialist paramedic, the Hazardous Area Response Team and a doctor from the Great North Air Ambulance Service.
Despite the efforts of emergency personnel, all seven people involved were pronounced dead at the scene.
The deaths come amid heightened scrutiny of dangerous and wrong-way driving following another head-on motorway collision in Ireland days earlier, in which five teenagers travelling in a BMW died after their vehicle was driven against traffic on the M9.
There is currently no evidence establishing that the two incidents are connected or that the A66 collision was inspired by the earlier crash.
Cleveland Police has urged people to avoid speculation while the investigation continues and formal identification of the five people travelling in the Volkswagen is completed.