“OUR SON IS NOT TO BLAME!” — THEN NEW EVIDENCE CHANGED THE A66 STORY

THE FAMILY BLAMED POLICE. THEN INVESTIGATORS REVEALED MORE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THE CRASH.

The family of one of the five young men who died in the horrific A66 crash questioned whether the tragedy could have been prevented if police had not pursued the Volkswagen Passat.

Their anger quickly became part of a wider public debate.

Why did officers pursue the vehicle?

Could the collision have been avoided?

And was the police response partly responsible for what happened next?

But as investigators began reconstructing the final minutes of that night, a much more complicated picture emerged.

THE PASSAT WAS NOT SIMPLY “DRIVING THE WRONG WAY”

The five young men were travelling in a Volkswagen Passat that eventually entered the A66 against the flow of traffic.

Inside were Michael Robert Cahill, 23; Jakub Matusiak, 23; Makai Saddington, 18; Cole Worthy, 17; and Theo Rae, 17.

They all died when the Passat collided head-on with a marked Cleveland Police vehicle.

The police vehicle was carrying PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.

Both officers also died.

But investigators say the police vehicle involved in the fatal collision was not the vehicle that had originally pursued the Passat.

That distinction has become crucial.

THE PURSUIT LASTED LESS THAN SEVEN MINUTES

According to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, Cleveland Police had received intelligence concerning numerous incidents linked to the Passat.

The vehicle was spotted after its registration plate activated an automatic number plate recognition camera. Investigators said it was believed to have been using cloned plates.

An armed response vehicle then began pursuing it.

The pursuit lasted just under seven minutes.

Then the Passat entered the A66 travelling in the wrong direction.

At that point, police aborted the pursuit.

Officers continued on the correct side of the carriageway.

Around 10 seconds later, the Passat collided with another marked police vehicle that had been sent to the area to assist in the search.

The impact claimed seven lives.

THEN CAME THE OTHER EVIDENCE

As the investigation continued, police revealed that the events leading up to the crash involved more than the Passat.

Officers had received reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously in the Middlesbrough area.

One, believed to be a Volvo XC60, was reportedly seen ramming properties.

Police said the Passat was believed to have been associated with the activity involving the Volvo.

One of the damaged properties was reportedly the home of Cole Worthy’s father.

There is no evidence that Worthy’s father was involved in criminal activity, and investigators have not suggested that he was responsible for what happened.

The investigation then widened dramatically.

Police arrested 12 people over suspected links to serious and organised criminal activity, with alleged offences ranging from firearm possession to participation in the activities of a crime group. One man was charged with drug and criminal-property offences.

The total number of arrests later reached 17.

SO WAS THE POLICE PURSUIT TO BLAME?

That question remains unanswered.

The IOPC is independently investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash, including the police contact that preceded it.

Investigators have obtained officers’ initial accounts, the incident log and in-car footage as they work to establish exactly what happened.

The evidence currently available does not support the simple claim that police chased the Passat into the fatal collision.

The official timeline instead shows that the pursuit was abandoned before the Passat struck the separate police vehicle.

That does not end the questions surrounding the police response.

It is precisely why the IOPC investigation matters.

But it also means the story is far more complicated than a simple question of “police chase versus innocent victims.”

Seven people died that morning.

Two were police officers.

Five were young men travelling in the Passat.

And investigators are still trying to establish what happened in the minutes before the vehicles finally collided.

THE FAMILY WANTED ANSWERS ABOUT THE POLICE. NOW INVESTIGATORS ARE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED BEFORE THE CRASH — AND THE FULL STORY IS STILL UNFOLDING.