Tributes pour in for teen killed in crash after catastrophic police error revealed 22 days later

Relatives of Joshua Johnson, 18, were told by South Yorkshire Police that he had survived a collision on Todwick Road, Rotherham, in the early hours of December 13 and that his fellow passenger Trevor Wynn, 17, had died.

However, both families were actually subject to a catastrophic error by the force, as officers had to embarrassingly tell them 22 days later that it was Trevor who had survived and Joshua who was in fact dead.

Before the mix-up was revealed, Joshua's family believed he was fighting for his life in intensive care over Christmas.

They are understood to have visited him on a daily basis, but did not detect this mistake because of the severe nature of the injuries.

Meanwhile, Trevor's loves ones had been planning a funeral for him, and flowers had been left in tribute to him at the scene of the crash.

A second teenager killed in the accident has also been identified as 17-year-old Summer Louise Scott, who had been driving Trevor and Joshua.

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Upon hearing the tragic and unthinkable news, friends and family of Joshua have left tributes to the young man on a GoFundMe appeal to raise funeral funds.

They revealed that Joshua was a racing fanatic and had competed in stockcar competitions across the UK, having only passed his driving test in September.

Organiser Frances Parker wrote: "Josh was one of the kindest, most caring lads you could ever meet, always knowing how to make people smile no matter what they were going through.

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"Josh had a huge passion for racing and been around stockcars, that love for life and adrenaline reflected the person he was - fearless, loyal, and full of heart.

"Together with his mum, dad, and brother, I want to come together to raise money to give Josh the send-off he truly deserves. One that honours the incredible person he was and the love he gave so freely.

"Any support, no matter how small, means the world to us and helps us remember and celebrate a truly special soul who will never be forgotten."

According to the Daily Mail, South Yorkshire Police only discovered the mix-up when Trevor awoke from his coma at the start of this year and told doctors his name.

A funeral had reportedly been planned for him, with a source close to his family branding the force's error as "disgusting".

Clare Holden, a friend of Josh's family, wrote on Facebook: "We as a family are truly devastated and heartbroken with the news of Josh.

"We were privileged to watch him grow up from a smiling happy baby into the most caring, loving, polite young man you could ever wish to meet.

"We watched Josh take his first ever drive in a micro up and down our driveway and then onto track, and was always my 'go to boy' in helping with the new younger drivers coming into the formula, with his words of comfort and help.

"A wonderful young man, with his whole life ahead of him taken far too soon."

Summer Scott's step-sister also paid tribute to her, writing on an online fundraiser: "On the 13 of december, my step-sister Summer was in a tragic accident and sadly lost her life at the age of 17.

"Summer was the light of everyone's life. If you knew Summer you would all know how much of a kind-hearted and pure soul she had.

"As this was an unexpected tragedy we kindly ask for any donations to help to give Summer the best send off she deserves, anything big or small will be very appreciated as it takes less stress off her family through this hard time."

Jake Richard, the MP for Rother Valley, said South Yorkshire Police faces 'serious questions' about 'how such a failure occurred and what safeguards were not in place to prevent it'.

Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane said the force was aware of "the additional trauma this error may cause", and had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

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.