A66 crash: Five more people arrested as detectives investigate events before deadly wrong way collision

Five more people have been arrested by detectives investigating the events leading up to the deadly A66 crash.This means the total number of arrests following the horrific crash near Middlesborough in the early hours of Saturday is now 17. Nine men and three women, aged between 19 and 61, were arrested yesterday over alleged criminality leading up to the collision for offences include possession of a firearm and participating in the activities of an organised crime group.Seven people, including two police officers, were killed in the crash at around 03:39 BST on Saturday, August 22.Police said a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way along the A66 collided head-on with a marked Cleveland Police car in the South Bank area.Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were named as the two officers killed in the high-speed collision. The five people travelling in the Passat were named as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18.Police said yesterday that the five young men who died in the Passat have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity”.On the morning of the crash, Cleveland Police received reports of two vehicles driving dangerously.A Volvo XC60 was spotted "ramming properties" around Middlesbrough, while a second vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat, is believed to have been associated with the activities of the Volvo.Read MorePolice said both vehicles were operating with cloned number plates but were picked up by automated number plate recognition technology.The Volvo XC60 involved in the initial reports has been traced and recovered in Middlesbrough.The crash in Teesside took place 10 seconds after a pursuit by other officers was terminated.Pc Blades and Pc Clough were not involved in the original pursuit, but had been called to the area to assist with the search for the Passat.Meanwhile, the Police Federation of England and Wales said in the wake of the collision that young people are “baiting police officers” with dangerous driving.“Every day we can identify now numerous examples of young people sensationalising dangerous driving,” Paul Williams acting deputy national chairman said. “Not just dangerous driving, but baiting police officers who are out there to protect the public.“It’s a real problem. It’s causing officers concern.“They shouldn’t have to be going out and worrying about whether they’re going to return home from their shift or not. But on top of that, wondering if they’re going to be plastered all over social media.“It’s absolutely unacceptable and social media platforms need to take some action.”Four of the five young men in the car had previous criminal convictions, and were believed to be associated with another car which was seen ramming properties earlier that morning.