Tributes to UK police officers killed in wrong-way crash
Tributes have been paid to two British police officers who were killed in a wrong-way collision in which five other people also died.
Two British police officers, Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were killed in a tragic collision on a dual carriageway near Middlesbrough. The crash occurred when a Volkswagen Passat, traveling in the wrong direction, struck their marked armed response vehicle, which was moving in the correct direction. The incident took place early Sunday morning.
Five other individuals in the Volkswagen were also killed in the accident. Cleveland Police are providing support to the families of the deceased, though their identities have not been disclosed yet. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher expressed his sympathies to the families and colleagues of the two officers, stating that the tragic events in Middlesbrough were deeply devastating.
He even reached out to Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller to offer his deepest condolences. The Independent Office for Police Conduct has initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash following a mandatory referral from Cleveland Police. The police vehicle on which Pc Blades and Pc Clough were traveling was not part of the pursuit that began after officers spotted a suspicious vehicle.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood both conveyed their deepest sympathies to all those affected by the devastating incident. A section of the A66 remains closed in both directions, and a Section 60 order, granting police officers additional stop and search powers, is in place near the crash site until 7:15 PM.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
