Five members of the public killed driving wrong way on A66 named by police

A 16-year-old boy was among five males who were killed when a car travelling the wrong way along a dual carriageway near Middlesborough crashed into a police vehicle.

Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18 all died when their Volkswagen Passat collided with a marked police armed response vehicle on the A66 early on Saturday.

Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were also killed in the collision and had been driving in the right direction.

Cleveland Police said: “Family Liaison Officers are continuing to work with the families all of those who sadly lost their lives in the collision.”

Published: 23/08/2026 by Radio NewsHub