1 day ago
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Victoria Scheerin Doncaster Coroner's Court
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Police told Trevor Wynn's family he had died in a car crash before it emerged he was being treated in hospital
A teenager wrongly believed to have died in a car crash was misidentified by police through visual checks as no forensic tests were initially carried out, a coroner has been told.
Trevor "TJ" Wynn, 17, was reported to have died in the 13 December collision while the family of Joshua Johnson, 18, were told he had been seriously injured.
However, doubts emerged when the injured boy woke in hospital three weeks later and confirmed he was Trevor and not Joshua, Doncaster Coroner's Court heard.
Asked if issues with identification had now been fully resolved, South Yorkshire Police's Det Ch Insp Andy Knowles told the coroner: "Yes, to a high degree of certainty."
The crash happened between Dinnington and Todwick near Rotherham, in the early hours when the silver Toyota Corolla the group were in left the road and collided with a tree.
Knowles told the hearing, overseen by Senior Coroner Nicola Mundy, the female driver, Summer Louise Scott, 17, and one male passenger died at the scene, while a second male was left critically injured.
South Yorkshire Police
Joshua Johnson's parents described him as a "loveable, gentle giant" who was "ever so genuine in his care for others" after his death was confirmed
Knowles said several personal items were found at the scene of the crash, but none were physically on a person.
These included a phone in a case and a driving licence in the name of Joshua Johnson, as well as a second phone displaying medical identification in the name of Trevor Wynn, with a bank card attached to the device.
Knowles said one of the attending officers used this to establish the next of kin and called Trevor's mother to explain what had happened.
She provided her son's college identification card plus a description of his appearance, build and footwear.
The ID card was then taken to the mortuary by the officer, Knowles said, where details of build and clothing were compared.
"The officer was satisfied that this was the body of Trevor Wynn," he added.
Meanwhile, a second officer, who had been travelling in an ambulance with the surviving male, said he had been told by an officer at the scene the victim was Joshua Johnson, based on driving licence photos.
That officer then liaised with medical staff at the hospital and the photograph was compared with the victim.
The medical staff and officer were satisfied the person in hospital was Joshua Johnson, said Knowles, who had no involvement in the investigation prior to 5 January.
Doubts about identity emerged when the boy woke up on Sunday, prompting Johnson's father to call South Yorkshire Police and voice concerns the person in hospital was not his son.
Knowles said at that point it was decided police would no longer rely on visual identification and obtained dental records, which confirmed the boy in hospital was actually Trevor.
The incident occurred on the road between Dinnington and Todwick
Doncaster Coroner's Court officer Siobhan Golightly said she had no reason to doubt the police identification and said an inquest had been opened for Trevor on 22 December.
"At no point prior [to 4 January] did any individual or organisation raise any concerns which would've caused me to question the identification of the deceased.
"It was the first time it was raised with the coroner's office and relayed to the senior coroner," she added.
Concluding Thursday's hearing, which Johnson's parents joined via videolink, Mundy said she was satisfied the inquest did, in fact, concern Joshua Johnson and not Trevor Wynn.
She told Johnson's family the coroner's investigation would continue but any potential criminal proceedings would take priority.
An 18-year-old arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and a 19-year-old arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice remain on bail pending further inquiries, police said on Wednesday.
'Awful consequences'
South Yorkshire Police previously said the force had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after identifying the error.
The IOPC said on Thursday an independent investigation was now under way to look at the actions and decision-making of police involved in the identification process.
IOPC director Emily Barry said expressed her "sincere condolences" to all those involved, adding: "It's hard to imagine what these families have been through in the past few weeks.
"It is clear something has gone very wrong with awful consequences for them."
