Mourners have paid their respects in Middlesbrough at the first funeral held for one of the five young men who died in a head-on collision on the A66.
Jakub Matusiak, 23, who was also known as Jacob, died when the Volkswagen Passat he was travelling in hit a marked police car while going the wrong way down a dual carriageway.
Two officers, Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, lost their lives in the crash. The five occupants of the Passat – Mr Matusiak, Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Michael Cahill, 23 – were all declared dead at the scene.
The service took place on Friday afternoon at St John The Evangelist Church in South Bank, Middlesbrough, with those attending wearing black or orange, Mr Matusiak’s favourite colour. Two white horses led the cortege, followed by a white Rolls Royce and a Lamborghini.
The coffin had “son” engraved on the top and was covered with orange and white flowers.
Normanby Road outside the church was blocked by the council, but there was no visible police presence outside the church.
Cleveland Police said there would be a “proportionate visible police presence in the affected areas to ensure public safety” following concerns of potential traffic disruption and delays were expected from 3pm to 5pm, affecting South Bank, Normanby Road through Teesville, Ormesby and Marton, and Acklam Road.
Four schools shut their doors at lunchtime amid concerns about “congestion and transport disruption”.
South Bank Primary School closed for pupils at 12pm on Friday “to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our pupils”.
Head teacher Tammy Cooper said in a message shared on Facebook that a funeral is being held locally and they are expecting “large numbers of people in the area which will inevitably cause congestion and transport disruption”.
She said: “This decision has been reached after careful consideration of the potential impact on the departure of pupils, staff and families.
“We recognise the inconvenience this may cause and thank our families for their understanding and co-operation.”
Ms Cooper said the school also recognises “some pupils may feel upset or anxious about the funeral taking place locally” and the pastoral team would be available for support.
Elsewhere, Mark Robinson, principal of Outwood Academy in Normanby, said in a letter to parents that the school would also close from midday after discussions between local headteachers and the council.
Superintendent John Wrintmore said that despite the increased police presence and closure of schools, the event took place without any issues.
“Today’s events have passed without issue and very minimal traffic disruption,” he said. “Our policing operation to ensure public safety will take the same approach next week when more funerals are taking place.
“We will continue to work closely with our partners to minimise disruption in these areas and keep the public safe.
“No schools, services or businesses have been instructed to close, and any decision to do so have been made by individual organisations and their own risk assessments.
“We would like to thank our communities for their continued cooperation and support. Our visible police presence in the area will continue throughout the week to provide reassurance and allow everyone to continue with their daily lives as normal.”
A vigil for Mr Cahill last week prompted criticism from MPs and police after a crowd set fire to a number of cars in Haswell, County Durham.
A spokesperson for Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said: “Following discussions between local headteachers and the local authority, a number of schools in the South Bank area will close earlier than usual on Friday afternoon due to anticipated traffic congestion and transport disruption associated with a local funeral taking place in the area.
“The decision was made after careful consideration of the potential impact on home-to-school transport and the departure of pupils, staff and families at the end of the school day.
“Schools have worked with the local authority and transport providers to consider arrangements for pupils, including those who travel to and from specialist educational settings.
“We recognise that early closure may cause inconvenience for some parents and carers, and we thank them for their understanding and co-operation.”
Education Secretary Lucy Powell said she trusted headteachers to “make judgments that they need to make to keep their school community safe” as several schools in Middlesbrough are due to close early as a funeral for one of the young men killed in a head-on crash on the A66 takes place.
Mrs Powell told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “As Education Secretary, I want schools to be open. I want pupils attending schools all the time.
“And these headteachers of these small number of schools have taken a very difficult decision with the local authority and the police for the safety of their school community to close early.
“What I would say is that there are huge anxieties and worries in the communities.”
She said she had been in touch with local MPs and Home Office ministers to put surge policing and extra resources in place to “calm those tensions down and to make those streets safe”.
She added: “I trust headteachers to make the judgments that they need to make to keep their school community safe. I hope this doesn’t have to happen again.”
She also said it was not a time for “party political point scoring”.
“This is a very, very difficult and delicate situation, as you say, and I will always put the safety and wellbeing of children at the forefront of anything I do,” she said.
