Shocking TikTok Clip Shows Deadly Joyrider Driving Recklessly Months Before Horror Crash That K.i.l.l.e.d Two Hero Cops and Five Young Men
In the early hours of Saturday, 22 August 2026, a catastrophic head-on collision on the A66 dual carriageway in South Bank, near Middlesbrough on Teesside, claimed seven lives in seconds. A Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way smashed into a marked Cleveland Police armed response vehicle. All occupants of both cars were pronounced dead at the scene.
The two officers killed were PC Matthew Blades, 37, a devoted husband and father of two young boys, and PC Tom Clough, 38. Both were travelling in the correct direction and were in the area to assist a search. The five young men in the Passat were named as Michael Robert Cahill, 23; Jacob Matusiak, 23; Makai Saddington, 18; Theo Rae, 17; and Cole Robert Worthy, 17.
Investigators revealed that police had earlier pursued the Passat for just under seven minutes after it activated an automatic number plate recognition camera with cloned plates and was linked to multiple incidents. The chase was aborted when the vehicle entered the A66 against the flow of traffic. Approximately ten seconds later, the Passat collided with the officers’ car.
In the days that followed, a TikTok video posted months earlier emerged showing one of the young men, Jacob Matusiak, behind the wheel. Filmed in May, the clip captures him driving at speed through a residential area in daylight, then veering onto a grassed area and down a pathway while steering with one hand and holding the camera with the other. The caption read: “Unfortunately I’m not a nonchalant boyfriend.” Separate footage linked to another of the occupants, Makai Saddington, appeared to show previous high-speed pursuits and reckless driving, including speeds reaching 100 mph.
The families of the fallen officers have spoken of unbearable grief. PC Blades’ widow described him as her beloved husband, best friend and the most devoted father. “The pain of losing him is beyond words,” she said, “and our lives will never be the same.” She spoke of the empty space left for their two young sons and the love that will never fade. PC Clough’s family remembered him as “our hero with a fantastic sense of humour” who jumped into action whenever needed and proudly served throughout his life.
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller called the pair “brave officers protecting our communities.” Flags at Cleveland Police headquarters flew at half-mast. Floral tributes accumulated at the scene as colleagues and residents paid their respects. A fundraising appeal for the officers’ families quickly raised substantial support.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the pursuit and the collision. While the full sequence of events continues to be examined, the tragedy has left an entire community reeling. Two dedicated officers who put themselves in harm’s way to keep others safe, and five young lives cut short, have left families shattered and a region in mourning. The images of reckless online behaviour captured months earlier now stand as a haunting prelude to a night that ended in irreversible loss.
