No forensics used to ID boys in crash death mix-up
According to a coroner, a teen who was wrongly believed to have died in a car crash was misidentified by police by visual tests because no forensic investigations were conducted at the time. Trevor TJ
Wynn, 17, was reported to have died in the 13 December crash, but Joshua Johnson, 18, was reported seriously injured, according to his family. However, doubts emerged when the injured boy awakened in hospital three weeks later and said he was Trevor, not Joshua, not Jonathan, not Josh, according to Doncaster Coroner's Court. When asked if identification problems had been fully resolved, Det Ch Insp Andy Knowles of South Yorkshire Police told the coroner, "Yes, to a high degree of certainty.
In the early hours, the silver Toyota Corolla was in left the road and collided with a tree, causing the accident between Dinnington and Todwick near Rotherham. Knowles testified at the hearing, which was supervised by Senior Coroner Nicola Mundy, the female pilot, and one male passenger died on the scene, but a second male was critically wounded, according to Knowles.
Several personal possessions were discovered at the scene of the crash, according to Knowles, but none were physically on a person. These included a phone and a driving licence in Joshua Johnson's name, as well as a second phone with medical identification in the name of Trevor Wynn, which had a bank card attached to it. Knowles said one of the attending officers used this to identify the next of kin and called Trevor's mother to inform what had happened. In addition, she gave her son's college identification card as well as a description of his appearance, build, and footwear. The ID card was then taken to the mortuary by the officer, where the officer's specifics of build and clothing were compared.
he said. Meanwhile, a second officer who had been riding in an ambulance with the surviving male said he had been told by an officer on the scene that Joshua Johnson was the perpetrator, based on driving license photographs. That officer liaised with medical staff at the hospital, and the photo was compared to the victim. Joshua Johnson, the patient in hospital, was cleared by the medical staff and officer, who had no involvement in the investigation before 5 January. When the boy awakened on Sunday, there were doubts about his identity, prompting Johnson's father to call South Yorkshire Police and alert that the individual in hospital was not his son. Knowles said at that time that police would no longer rely on visual identification and obtained dental records, which confirmed the boy in hospital was actually Trevor.The officer was positive that this was the body of Trevor Wynn,
Siobhan Golightly, a Doncaster Coroner's Court officer, said she had no reason to doubt the police identification and that an inquest had been opened for Trevor on December 22nd.
It was the first time it was raised with the coroner's office and relayed to the senior coronera," she said. Mundy, who Johnson's parents joined by video connection on Thursday, said she was confident the inquest did not prosecute Joshua Johnson and not Trevor Wynn, not Trevor Wethern. The coroner's probe will continue, according to Johnson's family, but any potential criminal charges will take priority. An 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by reckless driving, and a 19-year old jailed on suspicion on suspicion influencing the course of justice are on bail pending further inquiries, according to investigators.At no time before [towards] 4 January], did any individual or group raise any doubts that may have caused me to question the deceased's identification.
'Awful consequences'
After identifying the mistake, South Yorkshire Police said the department had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). According to the IOPC, an independent probe into the conduct and decision-making of police officers involved in the identification process is now underway. Emily Barry, the current IOPC chief, expressed sincere condolences
to all those concerned, adding,
It's clear that something has gone horribly wrong, with devastating consequences for them.It's difficult to imagine what these families have been through in the last few weeks.
