Police inform improper household their teen has died after deadly crash in ‘traumatic’ mix-up
South Yorkshire Police admitted the case of mistaken identity and said “this has obviously come as a huge surprise to everyone and we recognise the additional trauma this may cause”
Police have informed the wrong family that their teenage son had perished in a car crash in a “traumatic” case of mistaken identity.
South Yorkshire Police today (January 6) revealed it had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following the error.
On December 13, a 17-year-old girl and Joshua Johnson, 18, lost their lives in a collision on Todwick Road in Rotherham.
A third teenager, Trevor Wynn, 17, who was also caught up in the crash, had been rushed to hospital and placed under sedation.
However, officers mistakenly identified the sedated teen as Joshua Johnson, and the fatality as Trevor Wynn – leading police to inform Trevor’s family that their son had been killed, reports the Mirror.
It wasn’t until over three weeks later, on Sunday (January 4), that doubts were finally raised about the identities of those who died in the smash.
Following additional formal identification procedures, including forensics, it has now been established that: “Trevor Wynn is, in fact, the male in hospital receiving treatment and Joshua Johnson is sadly deceased,” the force confirmed.
Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane stated: “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.
“I have also offered to meet with 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 Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to consider our role in the identification processes which were followed following the road traffic collision.
“We will co-operate 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”.
An 18-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, while a 19-year-old was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. Both individuals remain on bail pending further enquiries.
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