Seven killed in northeast England crash involving armed police vehicle
Seven people, including two police officers, died after a wrong-way car collided with an armed response vehicle near Middlesbrough.
South Bank, United Kingdom. Seven people, including two police officers, died on Saturday after a car travelling the wrong way on a major road collided with a marked police armed response vehicle near Middlesbrough, Cleveland Police said.
Crash investigation
The crash occurred at 3:39 a.m. near the South Bank area east of Middlesbrough. All occupants of the two vehicles died at the scene.
Cleveland Police said it had formally identified the passengers of the other vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat, and was contacting their families.
Officers named
Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller described the incident as “an incredibly sad day for Cleveland”.
Fuller named the officers who died as police constables Matthew Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, 38, describing them as “brave officers … who didn’t return home to their families at the end of their shift.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham also issued a statement expressing sadness at the incident. The crash will be reviewed by Britain’s Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Road safety concerns
The crash followed two recent head-on collisions near Dublin, one of which killed five people. Ireland’s police chief warned this week that some young people were driving the wrong way on motorways “for social media likes”.
An Irish parliament committee has asked short-form video platform TikTok to explain how it removes content “that appears to glorify dangerous and illegal behaviour on our roads”. Ireland’s media regulator made a similar request on Tuesday.
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