Man Arrested After Wrong-Way Taxi Incident on Dual Carriageway
Investigation into dangerous driving intensifies with five more arrests linked to A66 crash; police suspect organised crime involvement.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Carla Rooney
A man was arrested after police stopped a taxi travelling the wrong way down a dual carriageway.
A cyclist was knocked from their bike, and several parked cars sustained damage on Sunday before a taxi entered a dual carriageway. The arrested man remained in custody on Tuesday; Lancashire Police confirmed no one sustained serious injuries in the Sunday event.
Separately, detectives investigating a crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough arrested five more people, including a 16-year-old boy. This brings the total number of arrests in connection with the A66 incident to an unspecified figure.
Cleveland Police suspect some detainees of "participating in the activities of an organised crime group." The A66 crash reportedly occurred at approximately 03:39 BST on Saturday, August 22.
A Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way collided head-on with a marked Cleveland Police car in the South Bank area. Seven people, including two police officers, were reportedly killed in the Saturday crash.
Cleveland Police reportedly aborted a pursuit of a vehicle travelling the wrong way down the A66 before it crashed into an oncoming police armed response vehicle. The government has reportedly ordered TikTok to remove videos celebrating dangerous driving.
Claims suggest the men killed in the Saturday crash were following this trend. Dashcam footage from Martin Williams reportedly showed police slowing traffic and deploying a stinger during the Sunday incident.
Williams claimed the taxi driver could have been killed without police intervention. Lancashire Police are seeking information and footage from the public regarding the Sunday incident; officers temporarily closed the road.
Lancashire Police identified a number of vehicles and drivers involved in the Sunday incident and will take appropriate action against them. Footage on social media reportedly shows police vehicles pulling over a taxi.
Multiple vehicles were observed driving the wrong way on the M6 slip road near junction 34 in Lancaster on Sunday to avoid traffic delays. Research indicates a driver appears in court every week for risking a head-on collision by driving the wrong way on the motorway.