South Yorkshire police admit error after wrong family told teenager died in car crash before Christmas

Police have admitted to a devasting mix-up that has left two heartbroken families reeling, revealing they told the wrong family that their teenage son had died in a crash, and another that their son had survived.

The bungle happened after a serious crash in Rotherham, in the UK and confusion over the identification of two of the victims in the December 13 collision.

Police initially believed that 17-year-old Trevor Wynn had died alongside a 17-year-old girl, and his family were given the devastating news.

Joshua Johnson,18 was thought to have survived the crash and was believed to be recovering under sedation in hospital.

However, further checks carried out three weeks later confirmed that it was actually Trevor who had survived and Mr Johnson who had tragically died.

Before the mistake came to light, tributes to Trevor were posted online describing him as “the most caring lad with a soft soul,” and a fundraising page in his memory raised hundreds of dollars.

One person posted: “Can’t get my head around this. My poor family was laying him to rest on Friday, so glad (he’s) alive.”

Another wrote: “How can they get something so terribly wrong?”

Family friend Jonathan Stoner said the confusion came to light when the teenager, previously believed to have died, woke from a coma and identified himself to doctors. The 31-year-old said: “It has been heartbreaking for them.”

“It all came to light when Trevor came out of a coma in the early hours yesterday Monday December 5. The doctors asked him questions like what his name is. That’s when he told him his full name and date of birth. The police then picked up his mum Charlotte who then drove her to the hospital and confirmed it was in fact Trevor. They have no idea how it has all come to happen.”

South Yorkshire police said both families are being offered support from specialist officers and services.

Assistant chief constable Colin McFarlane said in a statement: “This has obviously come as a huge shock to everyone and we recognise the additional trauma this may cause.

“We are supporting Trevor and all the families through this and have engaged specialist agencies to help provide that support,” he said.

“I have also offered to meet both sets of parents as I am sure they will have many questions, most of which we are not able to answer yet but we are absolutely committed to understanding how this happened so it cannot happen again.

“We have taken the decision to refer ourselves to the IOPC to consider our role in the identification processes which were followed following the road traffic collision.

“We will cooperate fully with any subsequent investigation and will be led by the IOPC on the next steps to determine how this happened, and how we can ensure this never happens again in the future.”

Police said an 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, and a 19-year-old on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

Both have been released on bail while inquiries continue.