Inquests have been opened and adjourned into the deaths of two Cleveland Police officers who were killed in a crash on the A66. PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died on Saturday when their police vehicle was hit by a Volkswagen Passat traveling against the flow of traffic.
The inquests were opened by Area Coroner for Teesside and Hartlepool Paul Appleton at Teesside Coroner's Court. He stated that both officers died in a fatal road traffic collision between Normanby Road and Church Lane in Eston. The coroner noted that an "aborted" police pursuit had occurred prior to the collision, but that both officers were "not directly involved in" it.
Provisional causes of death were given as head and neck injuries for PC Blades and neck injuries for PC Clough. The officers were identified by their respective partners and wives. Full post-mortem examinations, a report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), and a police collision report are pending.
Further inquests are expected to open into the deaths of the five young men who were in the Passat. A fundraising appeal established by the Cleveland Police Federation for the families of the two deceased officers has raised over £1 million.