No forensics used to ID boys in crash death mix-up
A coroner has heard that a teenager who was thought to have died in a car crash was misidentified by police because they relied on a visual check instead of forensic tests. The crash happened in December near Rotherham, involving a car that hit a tree.
Initially, police told the families that 17-year-old Trevor Wynn had died and 18-year-old Joshua Johnson was fighting for his life in hospital. However, three weeks later, the boy in the hospital woke up and told staff his name was actually Trevor. This prompted Joshua’s father to contact the police to explain that the person in the hospital bed was not his son.
The court heard that officers made the mistake after finding personal items at the scene, including a driving licence and mobile phones. An officer at the morgue felt certain they had identified the right person by comparing a college ID card and clothing descriptions. At the same time, another officer at the hospital believed the survivor was Joshua based on a driving licence photo. Because everyone was convinced, the coroner even opened an inquest into the wrong boy's death just before Christmas.
South Yorkshire Police finally used dental records to confirm the true identities once the survivor woke up and spoke. The force has now referred itself to the police watchdog to investigate how such a major error occurred. The coroner expressed her deepest sympathies to both families, describing the mix-up as a terrible situation with devastating consequences. While the investigation into the crash continues, two other men remain on bail in connection with the accident.
