Tees Valley officials and police representatives have expressed deep sorrow following the deaths of two Cleveland Police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, who were killed in a wrong-way crash on the A66. The collision also resulted in the deaths of five teenagers. The incident occurred when a vehicle carrying the teenagers drove into oncoming traffic and collided with the police vehicle. The officers were on duty keeping the public safe and were not expected to return home under such tragic circumstances.
Anna Turley, MP for the Redcar constituency, stated that the officers "went to work to keep people safe and they should have come home to their families." She added that their loss would be "felt deeply by their loved ones, fellow officers and right across the communities they served."
David Taylor and Stephen Martin, councillors for the Eston ward, described the event as an "unimaginable tragedy" and expressed their deep sadness. Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen called the incident "a horrible and tragic event" on Facebook, paying tribute to the officers and other emergency responders for their bravery.
Lauren Somerville, chairwoman of the Cleveland Police Federation, described the officers' loss as "unfathomable" and stated that "words cannot describe the pain the Cleveland Police family are feeling today."
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the incident, as is mandatory when a death occurs following police contact. Preliminary information from the IOPC indicates that Cleveland Police had sighted a suspicious vehicle, which initiated a pursuit. Security footage from Lime Road in Middlesbrough appears to show a car being pursued by police vehicles approximately three minutes before the crash. The BBC has reported that the pursuit concluded before the collision occurred, and the police vehicle occupied by PC Blades and PC Clough was in the vicinity at the time of the incident.