Police blunder described as 'disgusting' by friend of family mistakenly told their son died in horror crash
A police blunder which resulted in a set of parents being told their son had died, when he had actually been fighting for life in a nearby hospital for three weeks, has been described as “disgusting” by a family friend.
Another set of parents spent three weeks willing who they believed was their badly injured son to pull through, only to discover he had actually died in the horror crash, which also claimed the life of a 17-year-old girl.
An investigation is underway.
South Yorkshire Police told the parents of 17-year-old Trevor Wynn that he had died in the collision.
And the parents of Joshua Johnson, 18, were told that he had survied but was critically injured in hospital.
But on Sunday, January 4 it was discovered that there had been a mix-up and Trevor, known as TJ and from Worksop, was actually alive and it was Joshua who had tragically lost his life.
A source close to the family of Trevor has branded the mix up as "disgusting".
The family had started making funeral arrangements for the teenager.
The friend said: "They just can't take it in - they're devastated for the other lad's family as they've just gone through it.
"It's absolutely disgusting.
"This poor family have only just started grieving thinking their son was dead and have been preparing for a funeral.
"The young lad who actually passed away was who they thought was in the coma."
Family friend Jonathan Stoner, 31, has told how the mix-up only came to light after Trevor woke up.
He said: "It has been heartbreaking for them.
"It all came to light when Trevor came out of a coma.
"The doctors asked him questions like what his name is.
"That's when he told him his full name and date of birth.
"They have no idea how it has all come to happen."
A funeral for Trevor was expected to be held this Friday - until it emerged he was still alive.
The service for the 17-year-old was due to take place at St Anne's Church in Worksop.
A friend said: "It's a lot to get your head around. There are so many unanswered questions."
Flowers had previously been laid for Trevor at Valley Young People's Centre in Worksop, they added.
Trevor is understood to be a student at North Notts College.
South Yorkshire Police said that information came to light on Sunday which led to further formal identification processes - including forensics - to be undertaken.
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."
An 18-year-old was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, and a 19-year-old was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice following the crash.
Both remain on bail pending further enquiries.