Police told wrong family that their teenage son had died in car crash

 A family was mistakenly informed that their teenage son had died following a serious car crash, after police made a critical error in identifying victims. South Yorkshire Police (SYP) has since referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its identification procedures after the collision on Todwick Road, Rotherham, on 13 December.

Concerns regarding the identities of two young people killed in the incident emerged on Sunday. Initially, 17-year-old Trevor Wynn was believed to be one of the deceased, alongside another 17-year-old girl, and his family were tragically notified. Meanwhile, Joshua Johnson, 18, was thought to be the injured individual receiving treatment under sedation in hospital.

However, SYP stated that "information came to light" on Sunday, which triggered further verification, including forensic testing, to correct the identities.

The tests confirmed that Mr Wynn was the youth in hospital receiving treatment, and Mr Johnson was the person who died.

Families of both teenagers will be offered the support of specialist services, police said.

Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane 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.

“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.”

The force said an 18-year-old was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and a 19-year-old was held on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

Both have been bailed pending further inquiries.

In its statement, SYP said: “All of those involved have asked that we thank the public for their support but ask that they are now left in peace to process the future they now face.”