Five more arrested following wrong-way A66 motorway crash that killed seven including two police officers
Cleveland Police announced that further arrests have now been made in relation to the deadly A66 crash.
Another five people, including a 16-year-old boy, have been taken into custody by detectives investigating the events leading up to the horror crash which killed seven.
Two police officers - PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38 - were killed when a Volkswagen Passat was driven the wrong way along a dual carriageway near Middlesbrough and hit their marked armed response vehicle.
The five people travelling in the Volkswagen, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak, were pronounced dead at the scene at South Bank, early on Saturday.
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Inquests were due to open on Thursday morning for the two officers who were killed in the A66 crash.
Prior to the latest arrests, police said that nine men and three women, aged between 19 and 61, were taken into custody after an investigation over the weekend into alleged criminal activity before the crash.
Providing new details about the case in a press release posted on the Cleveland Police website, the force revealed that police officers had received several reports of two vehicles being driven 'dangerously' on the morning of 22 August.
The cars involved were a Volvo XC60, which was witnessed ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area, and a Volkswagen Passat.
Both vehicles had cloned number plates but were later traced by officers, with the Volvo ultimately being recovered by officers. Cleveland Police also noted that four of the occupants of the Passat had previous police convictions.
"This has been a fast-moving and complex investigation, with significant links to serious and organised criminal activity," Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox, responsible for the strategic leadership of the investigation, said.
"The events of that tragic night will have a lasting and profound impact on the Cleveland area and the communities we seek to protect.
"We have a duty to respond to, and thoroughly investigate, the serious criminal activity that resulted in this fatal incident, and to bring all those responsible to justice.
"Our robust response will continue in the weeks and months to come, as we continue to tackle those that seek to cause harm to our communities and tackle serious and organised crime.’
"Officers and staff across Cleveland have shown incredible resilience in continuing their work in the face of tragedy.
"Two of their colleagues lost their lives while serving the people of Cleveland and, while the impact will be felt by our people for a long time to come, they have continued to act with the utmost professionalism.
"I am also extremely grateful for the support we have received, and continue to receive, from the public of Cleveland and our wider police family."
Olivia Burke