Arabic version: إغلاق مبكر لأربع مدارس بسبب جنازة ضحية حادث طريق A66
According to BBC News, four schools will close early on Friday because of expected crowds and transport disruption linked to the funeral of Jakub Matusiak, 23. Matusiak was one of five young men killed in a collision involving a Volkswagen Passat and a marked police car on the A66 near South Bank on 22 August.
The Passat had travelled the wrong way on the dual carriageway before the head-on crash. Two officers in the police vehicle, PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were also killed. The funeral is understood to be due to take place at St John’s Church on Normanby Road in Middlesbrough.
South Bank Primary School and Outwood Academy Normanby are among the four schools confirming lunchtime closures. Archway Academy in Teesville will close at 11:45 BST, while St Margaret Clitherow’s Catholic Primary School in South Bank will close at 12:15. South Bank Primary said the move was intended to protect pupils’ safety and wellbeing, and said pastoral staff would be available for children who felt upset or anxious.
The closures followed discussions involving headteachers and Redcar and Cleveland Council. The council said the Mackenzie Thorpe Centre would close for the day, while some SEND children living in South Bank and attending other schools could be collected earlier. Cleveland Police said disruption and delays were possible between 15:00 and 17:00 in South Bank, Normanby Road through Teesville, Ormesby, Marton and Acklam Road. Police said they were working with local authority highways teams on traffic management and had public-safety plans in place.
The decision follows disorder in Haswell, County Durham, after a vigil for one of the young men last week, when several cars were set on fire. The police watchdog has said the Passat was being pursued until 10 seconds before the crash and was believed to have cloned registration plates. Police have arrested 27 people in a wider organised-crime operation following the crash.
