A 17-year-old boy was misidentified as a fatal car crash victim, a coroner heard on Thursday, an error the police watchdog said meant “something went very wrong”, leading to “horrendous consequences” for two families. Police initially named 17-year-old Trevor Wynn as the man killed in the December 13 collision in Rotherham, along with a 17-year-old girl.
The misidentification occurred after a police officer was given a description from Trevor Wynn’s family and a photo ID. South Yorkshire Police admitted this week that the male victim was in fact 18-year-old Joshua Johnson.
The mistake only came to light this weekend when Joshua Johnson’s father raised his concerns. He discovered that the individual who had been told his son had come out of sedation at Rotherham Hospital, Chief Inspector Andy Knowles of South Yorkshire Police told the hearing.
Mr Knowles said Mr Johnson had now been confirmed as the male teenager who died “with a high degree of certainty” using his dental records.
The officer explained how two teenagers died and another was seriously injured when the silver Toyota Corolla they were traveling in hit a tree in Todwick Road, Rotherham, on December 13.
Mr Knowles told the hearing: “A number of personal effects were found at the scene although they were not physically on the person of either man.
“One of those items was a phone in a case that also contained Joshua Johnson’s driver’s license.
“A second phone nearby showed some medical identification information and was in the name of Trevor Wynn.
“A bank card with the same name was also attached.”
Mr Knowles told the court how he described an officer using available information to establish next of kin details for Trevor and then speaking to his mother.
He said Trevor’s mother gave the officer a college ID as well as a description of his build and footwear.
Trevor Wynn (GoFundMe)
The senior officer said: “That officer then took this ID card to Rotherham Mortuary where at that time the deceased collision victim was recorded as an unknown male.
“Taking into account the comparison of the man’s features with the ID and also taking into account the descriptive details of the build and clothing, the officer was satisfied that this was the body of Trevor Wynn.”
He said a second officer rode in the ambulance with the surviving teenager, who interacted with paramedics at the scene but was then sedated.
That officer was tipped off about this person being Joshua Johnson by coworkers at the crash scene and was able to obtain a driver’s license photo of Mr. Johnson.
He said: “The officer liaised with medical staff and the photograph was compared to the victim.
“Those present were then satisfied that this person was Joshua Johnson.”
Mr Knowles told the court how he first became involved in the case on Monday, when he was told SYP had been contacted by Mr Johnson’s father “who expressed concern that as the person in hospital who he thought was his son came out of sedation, he became concerned that there had been a misidentification”.
He explained how he set out to establish the true identity of the deceased man, “no longer relying in this case on visual recognition as a form of identity”.
This was done using the odontologist Dr Roland Kouble.
Doncaster and Rotherham coroner Nicola Mundy said: “It is quite clear that the identification issues have now been fully resolved.”
She told Mr Johnson’s parents, who joined the half-hour hearing via videolink: “My sincere condolences for your situation and the loss of your son.”
Ms Mundy adjourned the inquest after saying inquests into Trevor and the 17-year-old girl who died, understood to be Summer Louise Scott, had been opened on December 22.
Coroner Siobhan Golightly told the court how identification evidence was accepted at the opening of Trevor’s inquest, based on photo ID and descriptions provided by the family.
She said there was “no reason to doubt” the identification provided by police.
The force approached the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) about the identification process following the incident and an investigation has begun.
On Thursday, IOPC director Emily Barry said: “My sincere condolences and thoughts go out to everyone involved.
“It’s hard to imagine what these families have been through in recent weeks.
“It is clear that something went very wrong with dire consequences for them.
“We understand the concern about this incident and it is vital that we carry out a thorough investigation, independent of the police, to establish exactly how and why this happened.”
In a police tribute on Wednesday, Mr Johnson’s family described him as a “lovely and gentle man” and said they spent “hours in hospital with who we now know is Trevor”.
They said: “What we have been through and what we continue to go through is unimaginable.”
An 18-year-old arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and a 19-year-old detained on suspicion of perverting the course of justice have been bailed pending further enquiries.