The police watchdog said Cleveland Police officers ended their pursuit of a car just 10 seconds before it collided with a police car not involved in the chase, killing seven people15:10, 23 Aug 2026Updated 15:40, 23 Aug 2026The police watchdog has said Cleveland Police officers ended their pursuit of a car "believed to be using cloned plates" just 10 seconds before it collided with a police car not involved in the chase, killing seven people.‌The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said on Sunday afternoon that its investigators had verified some of the circumstances leading up to the crash, which took place on the A66 in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, shortly after 3.30am on Saturday.‌Cleveland Police said a Volkswagen Passat was travelling the wrong way on the A66 when it collided with a police car. Two police constables - Matthew Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, 38 - were killed in the crash. The five occupants of the Passat - Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, Jacob Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18 - also died.‌The IOPC declared an independent investigation on Saturday morning following a mandatory referral from the force.In an update on Sunday, the IOPC said an armed response vehicle began pursuing a Volkswagen Passat after receiving intelligence about "numerous incidents" linked to the vehicle.‌It said: "Analysis of the police vehicle in car footage shows the pursuit lasted just under seven minutes before the Passat travelled onto the A66 in South Bank, against the flow of traffic, at which point the pursuit was aborted by officers and they continued to travel on the correct side of the carriageway."A short time after the pursuit ended, approximately 10 seconds later, the Passat collided with another police vehicle which was not involved in the pursuit but in the area to assist in a search for the Passat, believed to be using cloned plates that had activated an ANPR camera."‌The police watchdog confirmed the names of the seven people killed in the crash.Derrick Campbell, IOPC director of engagement, said: "Our thoughts continue to be with the family and friends and all those affected by yesterday’s collision. We recognise the devastating impact the incident has had on those in the force, and the wider policing community, and offer our condolences."We have obtained initial accounts of officers involved in the pursuit, the incident log and in car footage of the incident. Work is ongoing to obtain additional material.Article continues below"IOPC investigators will continue to review and analyse all the evidence that is available to us. We will not be providing any further comment at this time."