Parents spent three weeks by wrong boy’s bedside after police mix-up saw other family told son died
South Yorkshire Police incorrectly told the relatives of Joshua Johnson (18) that he survived the collision near Rotherham, England, in the early hours of December 13 and was in a coma.But Mr Johnson had died and they had instead been visiting Trevor Wynn (17), whose family had been told that he was dead.Summer Louise Scott, the 17-year-old driver of the silver Toyota Corolla, also died.They just thought it was Josh − they had no reason to think it wasn’tThey visited Trevor in hospital every day for three weeks, but did not realise he was not their son because of the severity of his injuries. The error was uncovered on Sunday when Trevor awoke from the coma, by which time his parents had already planned his funeral.“They just thought it was Josh − they had no reason to think it wasn’t their son,” a source told the Daily Mail. “It’s just the most unbelievable situation.“They’re still trying to come to terms with the fact it was a different boy and that their son actually died in the crash three weeks earlier. They have so many questions, plus of course, instead of praying for Josh’s recovery, they’re now grieving for him.”Trevor’s parents also visited Mr Johnson’s body and mistakenly accepted that he was their son.When Trevor awoke from his coma, he asked nurses and a visiting friend: “Why are you calling me Josh?”The friend alerted Mr Johnson’s parents and South Yorkshire Police, which then realised its mistake after forensic tests were conducted.News in 90 Seconds, Friday January 9South Yorkshire Police has now referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which said it was assessing the referral to decide whether to launch an investigation.Donations worth over £1,000 (€1,152) were made to a fundraiser for Trevor’s family after they were told he had died. The funds will now be used in helping him “move forward in life and supporting his family through this recovery process”.Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane said the incident had been a “shock to everyone”.He added: “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.”
