🚨 A66 CRASH UPDATE | 14:58 BST IOPC releases first findings into fatal collision The police watchdog has confirmed: 🔹 The Volkswagen Passat was linked to multiple incidents before the crash. 🔹 An armed response vehicle began a pursuit after the Passat was sighted. 🔹 The pursuit lasted just under 7 minutes. 🔹 The Passat then entered the A66 against the flow of traffic. 🔹 Officers abandoned the pursuit and continued travelling on the correct side of the road. 🔹 Around 10 seconds later, the Passat collided with another police vehicle. 🔹 The police vehicle involved in the crash was not part of the pursuit — it was in the area assisting with a search for the Passat, which was believed to be using cloned number plates. 🔹 IOPC confirmed all seven victims: 👮 PC Matthew Blades, 37 👮 PC Tom Clough, 38 🚗 Michael Cahill 🚗 Theo Rae 🚗 Cole Worthy 🚗 Jacob Matusiak 🚗 Makai Saddington The IOPC says it has reviewed: ✅ police vehicle footage ✅ incident logs ✅ initial officer accounts and the investigation remains ongoing. Why this matters: This update clarifies a key question — the crash did not happen during an active pursuit. The pursuit had already been stopped, and the collision happened roughly 10 seconds later when the Passat was travelling the wrong way on the A66. #A66Crash #Middlesbrough #ClevelandPolice #BreakingNews