Police wrongly tell family their son is dead after fatal crash
Relatives of Trevor Wynn were told by South Yorkshire Police that he had died in a collision near Rotherham on December 13
The family of a 17-year-old boy were mistakenly told by police that there son had died in a car crash, after officers mixed up his identity with the teenager who was killed.
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Relatives of Trevor Wynn were told by South Yorkshire Police that he had died in a collision near Rotherham on December 13.
Meanwhile, loved ones of 18-year-old Joshua Johnson were told he had survived the crash and was under sedation in hospital.
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But more than three weeks after the fatal incident, which also resulted in the death of a 17-year-old girl, Johnson's family were informed that the person in hospital was actually Wynn.
Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane said the force was aware of "the additional trauma this may cause", and had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Police were first made aware of the mistake on Sunday, after "concerns were raised" about the identities of those killed in the crash.
This prompted officers to undertake "further formal identification processes, including forensics", a spokesperson said.
Wynn was never named publicly by South Yorkshire Police at the time, but was widely identified on social media and in local news as having died in the collision.
Mr McFarlane said he had since offered to meet with both sets of parents to discuss the mistake.
He said: "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."
Following the collision, an 18-year-old was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
A 19-year-old was also arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice in connection with the crash.
Both remain on bail.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it was assessing the referral to determine whether an investigation was required.