A66 crash: Families describe ‘pain beyond words’ in tributes to police officers killed in Middlesbrough collision

Five teenagers and young men who died driving on the wrong side of the road in a crash which also killed two police officers have been named.

Makai Saddington, 18, Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Worthy, 17, and Jakub Matusiak, 23, were in a Volkswagen Passat which struck a police car in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Cleveland Police had launched a pursuit after spotting the VW acting “suspiciously”, the force said in the aftermath of the fatal crash.

Officers began following the car in South Bank, near Middlesbrough in Teesside before it joined the A66 in the wrong direction. Officers ended their pursuit, but just tens seconds later the VW collided with an oncoming police armed response unit at 3.39am.

The police car, which was travelling in the right direction, was not part of the pursuit.

No-one survived the collision, which is being investigated by the police watchdog.

Tributes have been paid to the “brave” officers, who were named as PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, by Cleveland Police chief constable Victoria Fuller.

Friends and family of the teenagers and young men have also spoken of their heartbreak.

In a post on Facebook, Sharon Morgan said she had lost her “beloved nephew” Makai Saddington, aged 18, from Middlesbrough.

“There are no words that can truly express the pain of losing someone so young, so loved, and so full of life,” she wrote.

“You brought so much love and happiness into our family, and your memory will stay with us forever. This loss has left a space in our hearts that can never be filled.”Rest peacefully, my beautiful nephew. You will never be forgotten.”

Grieving mother, Kelly Cahill, paid tribute to Michael Robert Cahill, adding: “Fly high my boy forever 23 go and be at peace with ya dad keep me a place up there till will we meet again [sic].”

Ellie Webster, who describes herself as a close friend of Theo Rae, said watching his family’s hearts being broken is one of the hardest things she has ever done.

“I’m gunna [sic] miss your daily checkins making sure we’re all okay. I wish I could take the pain away from your mam, how are we going to get her through this I’ll never know! It just doesn’t seem real. Rest in peace Theo.”