A house reportedly owned by the father of a teenager who died in a crash that killed two police officers was rammed by a car before the collision.
Cole Worthy, 17, was one of five young men who died when the VW Passat they were in was driven in the wrong direction on the A66 in Middlesbrough and hit a Cleveland Police armed response car, killing the two officers.
In all, 17 people, including a 16-year-old boy, have been arrested by detectives investigating “serious and organised criminal activity” linked to the crash.
At Worthy’s father’s home in a quiet residential street in Acklam, a downstairs window was smashed, and bricks were scattered beneath it. An upstairs bedroom window of the red-brick semi was also broken.
One neighbour described hearing loud bangs at around 2am on Saturday, and another said the street had been full of police all weekend.
Cleveland Police had received reports of two cars being driven dangerously in the early hours of Saturday.
The first, believed to be a Volvo XC60, was seen ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area.
open image in galleryThe BBC says it understands that Worthy’s father’s home was rammed before the teenager and the four others set out in the Passat.
There is no suggestion that Worthy’s father was involved in criminal activity.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed when the Passat hit their vehicle.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct told the BBC officers had been pursuing the Passat for almost seven minutes after it was connected to earlier alleged criminal activity, but that the pursuit was abandoned 10 seconds before the crash when it turned on to the dual carriageway.
PC Blades and PC Clough were not involved in the original pursuit but had been called to the area to help search for the Passat.
Both the Volvo and Passat had cloned number plates.
open image in galleryTwo men have been charged during detectives’ investigations. Kai Beattie, 19, of Foxrush Court, Redcar, was remanded in custody by Teesside magistrates pending a crown court hearing, charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Cameron George, 26, of Micklow Close, Redcar, was remanded in custody to appear at Teesside Crown Court on 21 September, charged with drugs offences and possession of criminal property.
Twelve people were arrested on Monday, and a further five were arrested on Tuesday with the help of the National Crime Agency and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit.
Those arrested on Tuesday were a boy aged 16, an 18-year-old and a man of 21, all on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group; a 23-year-old on suspicion of making threats to kill and a 55-year-old on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Four of the people previously arrested are accused of possessing Class A and B drugs with intent to supply.
More than £750,000 has been raised for the families of the two police officers who were killed.
Family members of PC Clough described him as “our hero” who was “always on public duty”.
PC Blades’s wife called him “my beloved husband, my best friend, and the most devoted father to our two young boys”.