Seven killed, including two police officers, in UK ‘wrong-side’ car crash

By Anadolu, AP, Reuters and The Associated Press. Published On 22 Aug 202622 Aug 2026.

Key points

• Fuller named the two dead officers as police constables Matthew ⁠Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, 38, describing ⁠them as brave officers.
• "This is an incredibly sad day for Cleveland, " Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller remarked.
• All occupants of both vehicles were pronounced dead at the scene near Middlesbrough in northeast England on Saturday, according to the Cleveland Police.
• After the collision in Dublin on Sunday, Ireland's prime minister, or taoiseach, Michael Martin, remarked it was the latest in a series of similar incidents.
• The police force remarked it had formally identified the passengers in the Volkswagen Passat and was contacting their families.

After a vehicle driving down the wrong side of a major road hit a police car in the United Kingdom, seven individuals, including two police officers, have died in a head-on collision during a pursuit.

As a similar collision occurred in Dublin on Sunday, a total of 12 individuals have been killed in less than a week in separate accidents involving cars driving on the wrong side of the road in the UK and Ireland.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Police remarked five members of the public were travelling along the wrong side of the road in a Volkswagen Passat when it collided with a marked police vehicle heading in the correct direction at around 3: 39am (02: 39 GMT).

Authorities are investigating the exact circumstances of the crash but remarked they understood that officers had begun a pursuit when they sighted a "suspicious vehicle".

Meanwhile, the police force remarked it had formally identified the passengers in the Volkswagen Passat and was contacting their families.

Fuller named the two dead officers as police constables Matthew ⁠Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, 38, describing ⁠them as "brave officers. Who didn't return home to their families at the end of their shift".

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham remarked on X that he was "devastated" to hear concerning the loss of life and pressed residents "to avoid speculation at this time".

Notably, the incident follows two similar recent head-on crashes near Dublin, with authorities there highlighting a social media-driven trend for "wrong-side" driving among young individuals.

After the collision in Dublin on Sunday, Ireland's prime minister, or taoiseach, Michael Martin, remarked it was the latest in a series of similar incidents. "There can be no tolerance for this reckless behaviour that we have seen on our roads lately. It must stop, " Martin remarked.

Irish police chief Justin Kelly continued that it came after another head-on crash on a motorway and cautioned that "what makes this reckless behaviour even more appalling is that in some cases it is being done for social media".

For context, an Irish parliament committee has asked short-form video platform TikTok to explain how it removes content "that appears to glorify dangerous ‌and ‌illegal behaviour on our roads". On Tuesday, Ireland's media regulator created a similar request.

For now, seven killed, including two police officers, in UK 'wrong remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.