A MAN has been charged with assault after disorder broke out at a funeral for one of the young men who died in the A66 crash.
Police rushed to the Teesside Crematorium service for 17-year-old Cole Worthy on Wednesday following reports of a disturbance inside.
6
6
Gye Worthy, 39, has now been charged with common assault, a public order offence and obstructing police.
He is due to appear at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on October 2, Cleveland Police said.
Cole was one of five young men travelling in a VW Passat which was going the wrong way on the A66 and hit a police car in the early hours of August 22.
Superintendent John Wrintmore from Cleveland Police previously said: “At around 12.30pm on Wednesday September 9, police swiftly attended to Teesside Crematorium following reports of a disturbance during a service taking place inside.
Read more on Middlesbrough
LAST SALUTE
Hundreds of cops and veterans gather for funeral of officer killed in A66 crash
STREET TERROR
Teens hang out car windows on way to A66 funeral after schools forced to shut
6
6
“A 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault and has been taken to police custody.
“The service has since resumed. Officers will be in the area to provide reassurance.”
The family announcement for Mr Worthy’s memorial read: “In loving memory of Cole, our beautiful boy taken from us on 22nd August 2022.
“An adored son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin. A loving boyfriend to Ruby and a cherished friend to many. Fly high Cole, forever 17.”
Most read in The Sun
GUTWRENCHING MEMORIES
Charlie Kirk’s haunting last words seconds before his assassination
‘I WAS HUNGRY’
Moment driver pulled over for ‘buttering bagel while driving with his knees’
DRIVEN MAD
Car mechanic clings to car boot as driver reverses in row over ‘unpaid work’
The funeral was on the same day as that of PC Matthew Blades, 37, which took place in Hartlepool.
Hundreds of cops lined the streets in an emotional farewell to “superhero” PC Blades.
Heartbroken colleagues wiped tears from their eyes as his coffin – draped in the Union flag – was carried into a packed church.
He was an armed response officer in a marked police car which was hit head-on by a VW Passat in the early hours of August 22.
6
6
His colleague PC Tom Clough, 38, also died at the scene, and the war hero was honoured in a separate service on Thursday.
Before he joined Cleveland police he served in Iraq and Afghanistan in a bomb disposal unit and then joined British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear Police.
Colleagues revealed that PC Clough, 38, used to joke that no-one would turn up to his funeral but hundreds proved him wrong today.
Schools closed early for the previous funerals of some of the other young men who died, sparking a political row, but they remained open during the ceremony for Mr Worthy.
The five young men in the Passat were Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jakub Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18.
On Monday, teens were seen hanging from car windows as they gathered for the funeral of Theo Rae, a close friend of Mr Worthy.
Cleveland Police previously said the men in the Passat may have had links to organised crime.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
An extra 200 specialist officers, including armed cops, were deployed to Middlesbrough from six other northern forces as the police tried to keep a lid on the escalating violence.