Mourners were seen hanging out of cars as they gathered for the second funeral on the A66 on Monday.
Dozens of people paid their respects to Theo Rae, one of five young men who died in a horrific crash in Middlesbrough last month, which also killed two police officers.
He is the second occupant of the VW Passat to die in the crash and was buried after a service at Teesside Crematorium.
The 17-year-old, along with Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, Michael Robert Cahill, 23, and Jakub Matusiak, 23, were pronounced dead at the scene in the early hours of August 22.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were traveling in a marked armed response vehicle, were also killed in the line of duty.
Ahead of the 2 p.m. service, four schools in the area will be closed at staggered times from 12:15 p.m. for fear of “traffic disruptions” similar to closures for Mr. Matusiak’s funeral on Friday.
Kemi Badenoch condemned the ‘obscene’ decision to close schools early again. The Tory leader said in a post on
“Lucy Powell should be ashamed of herself for refusing to intervene. This sets a terrible precedent and sends a message to criminals and criminals across the country that this Labor government is too weak to protect its people from them.
The procession was seen by a white carriage containing a dark blue coffin, drawn by two horses with blue feathers
Mourners were pictured hanging from cars as the procession drove into the crematorium
Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Robert Worthy both died in the crash
“It is also a kick in the teeth when police officers are asked to defend parents, teachers and children from the criminals involved in the violence that left two of them dead.
‘It was bad enough that schools closed at the start of last week, but it is completely unfathomable that the Labor Government has not ensured this happens again this week. If they don’t act now, it will only get worse.’
Mourners arrived in cars from 1.50pm today, followed by a white carriage containing a dark blue coffin, drawn by two horses with blue feathers.
On top of the carriage were baby blue colored flower displays that read ‘son’ and ‘grandson’.
Five black funeral cars containing Theo’s loved ones followed and attendees hung out of the cars as the procession drove into the crematorium.
A silver BMW even had a modified, illegal license plate for the occasion with the text ‘RIP’ on the front and ‘THEO’ on the back.
At the back of a procession was a van with more flower arrangements marked “cousin.”
Theo’s funeral follows Mr Matusiak’s, which was held at St John the Evangelist Church in South Bank, Middlesbrough, on Friday.
23-year-old Matusiak was one of the young men in the Volkswagen Passat that crashed into a police car on the A66 last month
PC Tom Clough, left, and PC Matthew Blades were killed in the car crash on the A66
Hundreds of mourners lined the streets dressed in black and orange — the young man’s favorite color — as his coffin, labeled “son,” arrived in a white horse-drawn hearse.
In addition, white and orange flowers on the hearse were arranged to form the word “Daddy.”
The coffin, made of light oak, was carried into the church by six pall bearers, some wearing baseball caps.
The funeral procession consisted of several flashy cars, including an Aston Martin, Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce.
Mourners arrived from 2:30 PM for the 3:00 PM service.
Men in balaclavas, and some on bicycles, were seen in nearby streets after the congregation entered the church, but they did not appear to be around to pay their respects.
Mr Saddington’s funeral will take place on Tuesday and Mr Worthy’s will follow the day after at the same crematorium.
The officers’ funerals will also take place this week.
Torches were burned and balloons released at a memorial for Matusiak last month in South Bank, Middlesbrough
Mourners attend the funeral of Jakub Matusiak. Many were dressed in orange, while some were masked
Several schools in Middlesbrough closed their doors again early today ahead of Mr Rae’s funeral.
Pupils from four schools in the Acklam area were sent home hours before the normal end of the school day.
Outwood Academy Acklam closed at 12.15pm, Newham Bridge Primary School finished at 1pm and Acklam Whin Primary School and Green Lane School both closed at 1.15pm after pupils had their lunch – just a week after schools returned after the summer holidays.
According to Middlesbrough Council, the decisions were made by individual schools amid concerns that the funeral later in the afternoon could cause local traffic disruption and delays.
The closures come just three days after schools in neighboring South Bank also sent children home early for Mr Matusiak’s funeral.
There was little to no disorder during that service, with Cleveland police saying it “went off without a hitch” and with “very minimal traffic disruption.”
But the decision to close schools has already sparked a political row, with the Tories accusing authorities of allowing crime to get in the way of education.
Conservative MP Laura Trott previously said schools should ‘stay open so children can learn’ after schools were closed ahead of Matusiak’s funeral.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell responded to Kemi Badenoch’s criticism earlier today, saying the Tory leader had made “another ill-considered attempt at political point-scoring.”
She added: “We have been in close contact with headteachers, schools and local authorities in Redcar and Cleveland, and Middlesbrough to support them with keeping schools open and on sensitive child protection issues.
“These are difficult decisions for headteachers, but I have been assured that no further closures will be necessary.”
Downing Street also today stressed that disruption to students’ learning must be ‘kept to an absolute minimum’, but insisted there were ‘exceptional local circumstances’.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson told reporters: ‘Our position is clear; the right place for children is in the classroom.
‘We want all schools to be open and at the same time we have made it clear that any disruption to students’ learning must be kept to an absolute minimum.
“We continue to support schools for this and that support includes allowing them to remain open during disruption and we expect them to do so.”
He added: ‘In this case there are exceptional local circumstances. The school directors made decisions in consultation with local authorities.
‘But we have made it clear that any disruption to students’ learning must be kept to an absolute minimum.’
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