Police informed a devastated family that their teenage son had passed away in a tragic car accident just days before Christmas, however, he later regained consciousness from a coma.
According to South Yorkshire Police, Trevor Wynn, aged 17, was pronounced dead close to 3 am on December 13, after a silver Toyota Corolla veered off the road. To their astonishment, the family discovered three weeks later that the boy they believed to be deceased had awakened in a hospital bed and identified himself to medical staff.
Tragically, 18-year-old Joshua Johnson lost his life in the crash, but authorities initially misidentified him as the individual undergoing treatment in the hospital. Additionally, 17-year-old Summer Louise Scott, who was driving the vehicle during the incident, also suffered a fatal outcome.
The family of Trevor had already begun arrangements for his funeral during the Christmas period, scheduled for this Friday, until the stunning revelation of the mistaken identity surfaced.
An 18-year-old was apprehended on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, while a 19-year-old was arrested on suspicion of obstructing justice. Both individuals are presently on bail pending further investigations.
Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane stated, “We have chosen to involve the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to review our procedures in the identification process following the road traffic collision.”
Initially informed that Trevor was among the two individuals killed in the early morning crash on December 13, the family later found out that the 17-year-old had survived the collision and had been in a coma at the hospital for three weeks.
It wasn’t until 22 days after the accident that Trevor’s family received the news that he was alive, after spending Christmas preparing for his funeral.
While the police mistakenly believed that Joshua Johnson was recuperating in the hospital, it was later confirmed that the 18-year-old had tragically passed away on the day of the crash.
The astounding turn of events was shared by Trevor’s family on a GoFundMe page that had been set up when they believed he had perished.
Joshua Johnson’s family, on the other hand, was initially informed that their son was alive and fighting for his life in the hospital over the Christmas period, only to later learn that he had succumbed to his injuries from the collision.
Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane of South Yorkshire Police acknowledged the potential distress caused by the mix-up.
The incident occurred when the vehicle left the roadway on Todwick Road, near Dinnington, in South Yorkshire.
