Police issue statement after victim of Todwick Road death crash is mistakenly identified and actually survived
The teenage victim of a fatal collision in South Yorkshire was mistakenly identified - when in fact he had survived the horror crash, it has emerged today.
In a statement issued by South Yorkshire Police this afternoon, it was revealed that a teenager identified as one of two victims of the collision on Todwick Road did actually survive.
His identity was mixed up during the formal identification process with that of third teen in the car, who was left fighting for life after the crash.
The families of both teens had been unaware of the error made during the formal identification process until last weekend.
South Yorkshire Police said: “On Sunday 4 January, concerns were raised regarding the identity of those killed in a road traffic collision on Todwick Road on 13 December.
“A 17-year-old girl died in the collision, and Trevor Wynn, 17, was also believed to have died in the collision and his family had been informed.
“A male who at that time was believed to be Joshua Johnson, 18, had been sedated in hospital since the collision.
“On Sunday, information came to light which has now led to further formal identification processes, including forensics, to be undertaken.
“This has confirmed that Trevor Wynn is, in fact, the male in hospital receiving treatment and Joshua Johnson is sadly deceased.
“The families and surviving victim, Trevor, will be offered support from specialist officers and additional specialist services.”
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 after the crash.
Both remain on bail pending further enquiries.
SYP added: “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.”