A horrific mix up left one family by the bedside of a crash survivor, wrongly believing he was their surviving son, while his actual relatives had been grieving for three weeks and arranging a funeral
The family of a teenager who died in a car crash have spoken out about their “unimaginable” ordeal after being mistakenly told their son had survived. South Yorkshire Police believed Trevor “TJ” Wynn, 17, had died alongside Summer Louise Scott, 17, in a collision near Rotherham on 13 December, while fellow passenger Joshua Johnson, 18, was seriously injured.
However, police said “information came to light” on Sunday which confirmed it was actually Joshua who had died alongside Summer, with Trevor the one in hospital. Jonathan Stoner, who had been helping to raise funds for Trevor’s funeral, said the error was discovered after he regained consciousness and said his name and date of birth.
In a statement, Joshua’s family said: “From the moment we were told about the collision in December, ourselves and many loved ones have spent hours in hospital with who we now know to be Trevor.
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“We never wanted him to be alone. Only those we shared this time with could understand how this went on for so long.”
It is thought that the extent of Trevor’s injuries meant that Joshua’s loved ones believed he was their son. Furthermore, Trevor’s family had viewed Joshua’s body following the crash and accepted it was their son. Trevor’s severe facial wounds – as well as notable similarities between the two teenagers’ appearances – meant the parents didn’t suspect anything was amiss.
A source told the Daily Mail: “They just thought it was Josh, they had no reason to think it wasn’t their son. 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.”
According to the publication, the alarm was raised by a friend of Joshua who was with the badly injured teenager in hospital over the weekend when he started to regain consciousness. As his memory came back, he began talking about his family and where he studied – and those details did not match with Joshua.
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The boy – who was in reality Trevor – then began asking nurses and visitors ‘Why are you calling me Josh?’ On Sunday, the friend contacted Joshua’s parents who alerted South Yorkshire Police, leading to the appalling mix-up finally being confirmed.
Joshua’s parents have since described him as a “loveable, gentle giant” who was “ever so genuine in his care for others”. They said they would treasure memories made while travelling and stock car racing, an activity they said their son was passionate about.
“Through stock car racing, we’ve built a massive circle of friends and we are so very thankful for the support they and others have shown us in the last few weeks and days,” his parents said.
“Neither us nor Josh’s brother can imagine life without him, and as we adjust to this new world and only just begin our journey with grief, we ask that our privacy is respected.”
Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane confirmed he has offered to meet with both sets of parents to discuss the matter. He said: “This has obviously come as a huge shock to everyone and we recognise the additional trauma this may cause.”
The force referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) since identifying the error. The IOPC told the BBC it was assessing the referral to determine whether an investigation was required.
