The dad of a teenager killed in the horror A66 smash attacked the celebrant at his son’s funeral, a court heard.
Gye Worthy, 40, an offshore deck foreman, assaulted the celebrant during the service at Teesside Crematorium, in Acklam, for 17-year-old Cole Worthy on Wednesday, September 9.
Teesside Crematorium (Image: ANDY FUTERS)
Cleveland Police were called and the grieving dad was arrested after the disturbance.
Cole was one of five young men killed in the head-on crash with a police car when their VW turned the wrong way up the A66. It is understood they were seeking revenge after a rival gang twice rammed Gye’s home on Ruskin Avenue in Acklam in the early hours of Saturday, August 22, in an attack believed to be directed at Cole. There is no suggestion Gye Worthy has links to organised crime or gang violence.
Police officers at the scene of a fatal crash involving a police car and a Volkswagen Passat on the A66 in South Bank, near Middlesbrough (Owen Humphreys/PA)
A house in Ruskin Avenue, Middlesbrough, after being rammed by a car, which deliberately reversed into the front window, causing extensive damage. (Image: OWEN HUMPHRIES/ PA WIRE)
The dad was due to appear at Teesside Magistrates’ Court, on Friday (October 2), but it emerged he appeared in court on Saturday (September 26) when he admitted assault, and obstructing/resisting a police officer called to the funeral.
He will be brought back before the Middlesbrough court on Tuesday, October 27 for sentence.
Cole Worthy was last seen on Thursday. (Image: Cleveland Police)
A house in Ruskin Avenue, Middlesbrough, after being rammed by a car, which deliberately reversed into the front window, causing extensive damage. (Image: OWEN HUMPHRIES/ PA WIRE)
The chain of events began in Ruskin Avenue in Acklam when Worthy's home was rammed by a Volvo XC60 at around 3am on August 22 in an attack directed at the 17-year-old.
By 3.36am his son and four others - Makai Saddington, 18, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Theo Rae, 17 and Michael Cahill, 23 - were out in the VW Passat, which was on cloned plates. All but one of the men had previous convictions.
From left to right: Makai Saddington, 18, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Michael Robert Cahill, 23. (Image: SOCIAL MEDIA)
The car was caught on CCTV racing at between 80 and 100mph down Lime Road in Teesville, pursued by three police vehicles.
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At 3.39am it turned the wrong way up the A66 dual carriageway, at which point the pursuing police vehicles stopped.
Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38 (Image: CLEVELAND POLICE)
Just ten seconds later, it smashed into a marked police car, killing PC Clough, 38, and PC Blades, 37, who suffered severe head and neck injuries. The pair were not directly involved in the pursuit.
Last month, a fundraiser launched for the families of the police officers killed in the A66 crash surpassed £1.2 million.
Following the crash, Emily Barry, director of engagement with the Independent Office for Police Conduct said: "We continue to recognise the devastating and long-lasting impact this incident has had on the families and those in the force, the policing community, and the wider local community.
"We are aware there is speculation regarding how the collision occurred.
"There is no suggestion the collision was a result of any direct police contact, nor was a stinger used by the police in an attempt to stop the Passat."
At least three dozen people have been arrested in a crackdown on organised crime since the crash.