Hundreds gathered in Middlesbrough this afternoon as the first funeral took place for a 23-year-old who died in the A66 wrong-way crash.

On August 22, seven people, including two police officers, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat collided with a marked police car on the dual carriageway.

Jakub Matusiak was one of five passengers in the Passat, which was travelling in the wrong direction when it hit the officers (who were driving the right way) head-on.

The four other young men were Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Michael Cahill, 23, who were pronounced dead at the scene, along with PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.

Today, mourners aplenty gathered at St John the Evangelist Church in the South Bank area for a large-scale ceremony for Matusiak, also known as Jacob.

They dressed in black or his favourite colour, orange, as two white horses led the procession through the streets, followed by a white Rolls-Royce and a Lamborghini.

Matusiak’s wooden coffin was topped with orange and white flowers and had ‘son’ engraved on the side.

While there was no visible police presence at the funeral, Normanby Road, which is outside the church, was blocked off by the council.

Cleveland Police had warned of potential traffic disruption and delays nearby from 3pm to 5pm, which also led to Normanby Medical Centre closing at 1pm following ‘careful consideration’.

Superintendent John Wrintmore said there would ‘be a proportionate visible police presence in the affected areas to ensure public safety, in line with our plans for any significant gathering’.

It was also previously confirmed that schools would be closing early amid concerns about ‘congestion and transport disruption’.

Head teachers were alerted to possible large crowds, prompting discussions between the schools and Redcar and Cleveland Council.

As a result, Archway Academy Teesville, South Bank Primary School, Outwood Academy Normanby, St Margaret Clitherow’s Catholic Primary School, and Mackenzie Thorpe School were among the schools that either partly or fully closed today.

South Bank Primary School, which closed at 12.15pm, said it was doing so to ‘ensure the safety and wellbeing of pupils’.

Head teacher Tammy Cooper added that pastoral support was available for students feeling ‘upset or anxious’ by the events.

Matusiak’s funeral follows a raucous memorial held near the crash site. It drew attention after beginning with the release of orange balloons, escalating into flares and fireworks being lit, and a masked gang of motorbikers roaring through the streets.

Locals blasted the tone of the memorial as ‘disrespectful’ in contrast to the silent prayer vigils held for the two police officers killed.

A fundraiser launched for PC Blades and PC Clough surpassed £1.2million this week after thousands donated to the total, which will be split equally between their two grieving families.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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