One of the five young men killed when a Volkswagen Passat crashed head-on into a police vehicle on the A66 was awaiting trial over allegations that he had racially abused and assaulted police officers, it has emerged.
Makai Saddington, 18, died alongside Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, and Jacob Matusiak, 23, when the Passat collided with a marked police car in the early hours of Saturday.
The crash also claimed the lives of Cleveland Police officers PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.
Saddington had appeared in court on July 17 in connection with allegations arising from incidents in June, according to court records seen by The Sun.
He was accused of assaulting Cleveland Police Sergeant Rooker and causing racially aggravated alarm or distress to PC Chowdhury.
He had been due to face further proceedings in relation to those allegations before his death.
Passat had been involved in police pursuit
The revelation comes as investigators continue to piece together the events that led to the fatal collision.
Cleveland Police believes the Volkswagen Passat was travelling with cloned number plates and had been linked to a number of suspicious incidents.
Officers began pursuing the vehicle through residential streets shortly before the crash.
Doorbell camera footage recorded the Passat travelling at high speed through Middlesbrough at approximately 3.36am.
The pursuit continued for around seven minutes before the vehicle reached the A66 and began travelling in the wrong direction.
Police called off the pursuit when the Passat entered the carriageway against the flow of traffic.
Just ten seconds later, the Volkswagen slammed head-on into a separate marked police vehicle travelling correctly along the A66.
The officers inside that vehicle had not been involved in the pursuit.
Both PC Blades and PC Clough died in the collision.
Social media videos raise further questions
Saddington’s online activity has also come under scrutiny following the crash.
Videos apparently linked to him appear to show involvement in high-speed police pursuits in the months before the tragedy.
In one clip recorded in May, Saddington is seen as a passenger in an Audi travelling rapidly through a housing estate while a police car follows with its blue lights activated.
The Audi then appears to cut across a grassy playing field in what seems to be an attempt to evade the pursuing officers.
Another video associated with Saddington shows a green Nissan being driven around before it is set alight.
Separate photographs appear to show him and a friend posing inside cars while wearing black balaclavas.
The footage has emerged amid growing concern about young people recording dangerous driving and police pursuits before sharing the material on social media in pursuit of views and attention.
Residents describe terrifying moments before crash
People living on Lime Road, around a mile from where the fatal collision occurred, described being jolted awake by the sound of the speeding vehicles.
Ellie Westerman, 24, said she estimated that the Passat was travelling at between 80 and 100mph along the narrow residential road.
She said the noise was enough to wake her and that she could feel vibrations in the house as the vehicle passed, followed by police cars with their lights and sirens operating.
Another resident recalled hearing tyres screech as the car being pursued took a corner into the street at what they described as tremendous speed.
The residents said they were shocked that vehicles had been travelling so quickly through the residential area and expressed their sadness that the pursuit ultimately ended with seven deaths.
Families mourn two officers
The crash has left the families of PC Blades and PC Clough devastated.
PC Matthew Blades was a husband and father of two who had recently taken on a coaching role with Seaton Carew FC.
He had been preparing to coach the club’s under-seven team, in which his own son plays.
His wife described him as her “beloved husband”, “best friend” and “the most devoted father to our two young boys”.
She said there were no words that could adequately honour her husband and spoke of the devastating loss suffered by their family.
PC Tom Clough, 38, had previously served with British Transport Police and was also a former soldier.
His relatives remembered him as their “hero” and praised his “fantastic” sense of humour, describing him as someone who would always step forward whenever help was needed.
The deaths have also prompted tributes from the families and friends of the five people travelling in the Passat.
Theo Rae and Cole Worthy, both 17, were close friends, while Michael Cahill, 23, and Jacob Matusiak, 23, have also been remembered by those who knew them.
Investigation into fatal collision continues
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The inquiry is examining the events surrounding the police pursuit and the subsequent collision, while Cleveland Police continues its own investigation into the circumstances leading up to the tragedy.
The deaths of the seven people have prompted renewed scrutiny of the risks associated with high-speed driving, police pursuits and the filming of dangerous behaviour for social media.
For the families of PC Blades and PC Clough, however, the investigation comes amid profound personal loss, as they mourn two officers who had gone to work expecting to return home at the end of their shifts.
