A startling new detail has emerged from the investigation into the A66 tragedy — and it involves the home of one of the teenagers who died.

Cole Worthy, 17, was one of five young men travelling in a Volkswagen Passat that was being driven in the wrong direction on the A66 near Middlesbrough in the early hours of August 22.

The Passat collided with a Cleveland Police armed-response vehicle, resulting in the deaths of all five occupants and two police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough.

But investigators looking into what happened before the catastrophic collision uncovered a remarkable detail.

A property belonging to Cole Worthy’s father had reportedly been rammed by another vehicle shortly before the crash.

Police had received multiple reports of dangerous driving around Middlesbrough that morning. A Volvo XC60 was reportedly seen ramming properties, while the Passat was believed to have been associated with the activity involving the Volvo.

The damage to the Worthy family home was significant.

A front window was smashed, brickwork was damaged and debris was scattered outside the property. Neighbours reportedly heard loud bangs during the early hours as the events unfolded.

According to reports, Cole and the other young men may have set out in the Passat after the incident involving his father’s property.

That detail has become one of the most striking pieces of the timeline investigators are examining.

Was the property attack the event that set everything in motion?

Reports have suggested that tensions between rival groups may have played a role in the chain of events leading to the A66 collision. However, investigators have not publicly established every detail of that sequence, and speculation about motives should not be treated as proven fact.

What is clear is that the investigation quickly expanded far beyond the crash itself.

Cleveland Police described the case as a fast-moving and complex investigation with significant links to serious and organised criminal activity. Seventeen people had been arrested by August 25 in connection with the events surrounding the crash, with allegations ranging from firearms offences to participation in an organised crime group.

Meanwhile, the Independent Office for Police Conduct launched its own investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal collision.

The two officers who died were not part of the original pursuit. They had been called to assist in the search for the Passat before the fatal encounter on the A66.

For investigators, the crucial question is no longer simply what happened at the moment of impact.

It is what happened in the hours before it.

A damaged family home.

Two vehicles reportedly moving dangerously through Middlesbrough.

A group of young men travelling in a Passat.

And, ultimately, a wrong-way journey that ended in one of the region’s most devastating road tragedies in years.

The connection involving Cole Worthy’s father does not establish wrongdoing by him. Police have explicitly said there is no evidence suggesting he was involved in criminal activity.

But the fact that his home was targeted shortly before his son became one of the seven victims has added another extraordinary chapter to an investigation that continues to raise difficult questions about what happened that night.