Twelve people have been killed in less than a week in separate wrong-way driving crashes in England and Ireland, intensifying concerns over a dangerous trend in which motorists deliberately drive against traffic and, in some cases, record the stunts for social media.

Seven people, including two police officers, died early Saturday when a Volkswagen Passat traveling the wrong way on the A66 near South Bank in Middlesbrough, northeastern England, collided head-on with a marked Cleveland Police vehicle.

The crash happened at about 3:39 a.m. local time after officers had been pursuing a suspicious vehicle. The Passat, traveling against the flow of traffic, struck the police car, killing the two officers inside and five people in the Volkswagen.

All seven victims died at the scene.

Emergency crews sent 14 ambulance resources, a specialist paramedic team, a hazardous area response team and a doctor from the Great North Air Ambulance Service to the crash site.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collision, including the police pursuit.

The A66 was closed in both directions between Normanby Road and Church Lane in Eston as investigators examined the scene.

The deaths came less than a week after a separate wrong-way crash in Ireland killed five teenagers and seriously injured four other people.

On Aug. 16, a black BMW traveling the wrong way on the northbound M9 motorway near Moone in County Kildare, west of Dublin, collided head-on with a Hyundai.

Five teenagers in the BMW died. They were identified locally as Kamil Pustkowski, 17, of Limerick; Joey "Joe" Carthy, 15, of Athy, County Kildare; Alex McCarthy, 17, of Carlow; Jack Kennedy, 17, of Athy; and Jeremy O'Brien, 18, of Carlow.

Four people traveling in the Hyundai, including a 7-year-old boy, were seriously injured. The group included three women from the same family who were traveling toward Dublin Airport for a family wedding in Britain. Two of the women were reported to be in critical condition.

Garda Siochána, Ireland's national police force, determined that the BMW had been linked to suspected break-ins or burglaries in the Carlow and Athy areas earlier that night. Gardai had attempted to stop the vehicle after it was reported to have been involved in the incidents, but it failed to stop.

Investigators believe the BMW traveled the wrong way on the M9 more than once. Gardai had prepared measures, including stinger devices, near an exit ramp, but the vehicle continued before the fatal collision.

Police were not pursuing the BMW at the moment of impact. Garda policy generally prohibits officers from chasing vehicles traveling against traffic on a motorway because of the extreme danger posed to other motorists.

The Garda investigation has also examined social media activity connected to some of the teenagers. Authorities said some of those involved had previously posted or been linked to videos showing reckless driving, including wrong-way driving.

The M9 crash was not an isolated incident.

A week earlier, on Aug. 9, a stolen vehicle carrying eight teenagers was driven the wrong way, including down an entrance ramp, on Dublin's M50 motorway near Junction 12 at Firhouse. The vehicle collided with another car, injuring all nine people involved. One of the teenagers suffered critical injuries.

Authorities have increasingly pointed to social media as a factor in a series of dangerous driving incidents involving young people.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly described the M9 crash as "horrific" and said the behavior was even more disturbing because some drivers appeared to be committing the offenses for social media attention.

He also linked the crash to the recent M50 collision and warned that driving against traffic on a motorway can have devastating consequences.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said there could be "no tolerance" for the reckless behavior, describing wrong-way motorway driving as an irresponsible and dangerous act that must stop.

Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan condemned what he called "outrageously dangerous criminal behaviour" and said the government was considering whether wrong-way motorway driving should become a specific offense.

Irish authorities have described a pattern involving groups of predominantly teenage males stealing vehicles, driving them recklessly and sometimes deliberately entering motorways in the wrong direction after failing to stop for police.

Some of the activity has been filmed and shared on platforms such as TikTok, with videos showing high-speed driving, damaged ignition systems, police encounters and other dangerous behavior.

Police have also raised concerns that offenders understand the limitations placed on officers during motorway pursuits. Gardai generally cannot pursue a vehicle traveling against traffic because doing so could put innocent motorists at even greater risk.

The Garda Representative Association has called for improved training for officers dealing with motorists who refuse to stop, while Ireland's media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, and an Oireachtas committee have sought explanations from TikTok about content that may glorify illegal and dangerous driving.

TikTok has said it removes content that violates its rules and is monitoring material connected to the incidents.

Wrong-way crashes are among the most dangerous collisions on high-speed roads because vehicles can approach each other at extremely high closing speeds, leaving drivers little or no time to react.

Wrong-way driving can occur because of impairment, confusion or mistakes, but Irish authorities are increasingly concerned about cases in which drivers appear to enter opposing lanes deliberately and record the behavior for online attention.

The A66 crash in England has raised a separate set of questions about police pursuits and the risks officers face when a suspect vehicle begins traveling against traffic.