Seven dead in UK wrong-way crash involving police car

Seven people, including two police officers, died in a head-on collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough in northeast England early Saturday, after a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way hit a marked police armed response vehicle. Cleveland Police said all occupants of both vehicles were pronounced dead at the scene at around 3:39 a.m. Source: AP News

The victims

The two officers were named as police constables Matthew Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, 38. Chief Constable Victoria Fuller called them “brave officers … who didn’t return home to their families at the end of their shift.” The five members of the public in the Passat have been formally identified, and their families are being contacted. Source: SCMP

The pursuit

Security camera footage appears to show several police vehicles chasing a car minutes before the crash. The clip, filmed on Lime Road at 03:36 BST, is about three minutes before the collision. The BBC understands the police car involved in the crash was not part of the pursuit, and a police source said the chase had been abandoned before the collision. Source: BBC

Investigation and context

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is reviewing the incident, as is standard in such cases. Local MP Anna Turley urged the public to “avoid speculation at this deeply painful time.” Source: AP News The crash follows two similar wrong-way collisions in Ireland, where authorities have linked the behaviour to a social media trend. Ireland’s prime minister, Michael Martin, said, “There can be no tolerance for this reckless behaviour.” Source: Al Jazeera