A66 Pursuit Tragedy: Two Police Officers Among Seven Killed

Seven people lost their lives in the early hours of Saturday 22 August 2026 when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way along the A66 at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, collided head-on with a marked Cleveland Police armed response vehicle.

Among those who died were Cleveland Police officers PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, along with the five occupants of the Passat.

In this episode, former detectives Tom Wood and Simon McLean examine what is currently known about the tragedy while recognising that the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collision is still at an early stage.

Tom explains how police pursuits are controlled, why a pursuit can be abandoned when the danger becomes too great, and the specialist training required to drive police vehicles at high speed.

Simon and Tom also reflect on incidents from their own police careers which brought home the risks faced by officers on the road.

Simon recalls the 1994 death of Strathclyde Police officer PC Stuart Simpson, who was killed when his police vehicle was struck head-on by a car travelling the wrong way on the M8.

Tom remembers losing two traffic officers while he was an acting divisional commander in West Lothian — and the devastating experience of personally going to the home of one of the officers to tell his wife that her husband had died.

The conversation also examines:

• how police vehicle pursuits are managed and terminated;
• the highly specialised training of police traffic drivers;
• the role of Armed Response Vehicles in British policing;
• why most British police officers continue to patrol without firearms;
• the impact that the death of colleagues can have on a close-knit police force;
• and the support needed by officers and other emergency workers who attend traumatic scenes.

The circumstances leading to the A66 collision are being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Tom and Simon therefore distinguish between what is known and the questions that remain unanswered.

00:00 — Cold Open

00:50 — The A66 tragedy: seven people killed

02:43 — How police pursuits are controlled and called off

06:36 — What we know about the A66 collision

08:41 — Simon remembers PC Stuart Simpson and the 1994 M8 tragedy

10:35 — Tom recalls losing two traffic officers in West Lothian

15:41 — How road policing departments operate

17:28 — The specialist training of high-speed police drivers

20:47 — What is an Armed Response Vehicle?

25:04 — Why most British police officers remain unarmed

25:52 — The unanswered social-media question

26:37 — Closing thoughts

Crime Time Inc. — Real cases. Real detectives. Real talk.

About Crime Time Inc.

Season 5 of Crime Time Inc. broadens its reach across two sides of the Atlantic.

This season features cases from Scotland and across the wider UK — rooted in real investigative experience — alongside deep dives into some of the most infamous murder cases in American history.

Hosted by former detectives Simon and Tom, with experience in both the UK and the United States, including time working alongside the FBI, the show strips away sensationalism to explain how crime and justice really work.

Two crime worlds. One podcast.

New episodes released regularly throughout the season.

Our Website: https://crimetimeinc.com/

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