White Horses, Luxury Cars — and 37 Convictions: The Funeral That Exposed a Deadly Night on the A66
Hundreds of mourners lined the streets of South Bank, Middlesbrough, on 4 September 2026 for the funeral of Jakub Matusiak, 23. His coffin, engraved with the word “son” and covered in orange and white flowers, was carried on a white horse-drawn carriage. A procession of high-end cars, including a Rolls-Royce and a Lamborghini, followed. Many in the crowd wore orange, his favourite colour, and black.
The spectacle stood in sharp contrast to how Matusiak died. In the early hours of 22 August, a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on the A66 near Middlesbrough collided head-on with a marked Cleveland Police car. Seven people were killed: Matusiak; Michael Cahill, 23; Makai Saddington, 18; Theo Rae, 17; Cole Worthy, 17; and police officers PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.
Before that night, Matusiak had already appeared in court. In March 2026 he pleaded guilty to driving without a licence and using a vehicle without insurance. Videos later circulated showing him driving at speed through residential streets, onto grass and along a footpath, filming as he went. Other clips linked to the wider group showed reckless driving, police pursuits and occupants without seatbelts. Police said they had no evidence that the fatal journey itself was filmed for social media.
Four of the five young men in the Passat had previous convictions. Together they had pleaded guilty to 37 offences between October 2023 and June 2026. Those records included assaults on police officers, driving without a licence or insurance, using a phone while driving, knife possession, drug possession, shoplifting, vehicle theft and racially aggravated harassment. Cahill had no prior convictions.
Cleveland Police have been examining whether the group was tied to more serious organised crime. Officers received reports that night of two vehicles being driven dangerously. A Volvo XC60 was seen ramming properties in Middlesbrough. The Passat was believed to be linked to that activity. Detectives later arrested more than a dozen people on suspicion of offences including participating in an organised crime group, possessing weapons or firearms, and drug supply.
The funeral itself passed with limited disruption, police said, after schools closed early and part of Normanby Road was shut because of expected crowds. Earlier memorials had been more chaotic, with masked youths on bikes and flares. Further funerals for other occupants of the Passat were scheduled in the days that followed.
The case has sharpened a wider argument. Dangerous driving videos can turn risk into entertainment. Short sentences for driving without a licence or insurance do little if the same people keep getting behind the wheel. And when a collision on a dual carriageway kills two officers and five young men in one night, the question is not only how they died, but how many warning signs were already on the record.
Matusiak’s funeral showed he was loved. The convictions, the videos and the wrong-way crash showed the cost of treating the road as a stage.
