Seven people, including two Cleveland Police officers and five young men, were killed on the A66 near Middlesbrough on Saturday, 22 August, when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way collided with a marked armed-response vehicle.
According to reports, the crash followed a police pursuit of the Passat, which was believed to have cloned registration plates. Online anger intensified after older TikTok videos allegedly linked some of the five men to reckless driving and police pursuits, prompting a fierce debate over social-media-fuelled 'joyrides.'