Police wrongly told a family their son had died in a car crash when he had in fact survived.
South Yorkshire Police (SYP) informed the family of Trevor Wynn, 17, that he had passed away, along with a girl of the same age, following a serious collision on Todwick Road in Rotherham, on 13 December.
At the time, it had been thought that Joshua Johnson, 18, was under sedation in hospital after being injured.
SYP said new “information came to light” on Sunday, which had prompted further identification processes being undertaken.
The further checks were taken after the teenager – previously thought to be Mr Johnson – woke up in hospital and said he was Mr Wynn, Sky News correspondent Emma Birchley said.
The tests confirmed that Mr Wynn was the badly injured young man in hospital receiving treatment, and Mr Johnson was the person who died.
The “astonishing mistake” had resulted in Mr Wynn’s family spending Christmas and New Year with the belief he had died, while Mr Johnson’s family believed he was injured in hospital, Birchley said.
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“It’s being reported… that that information was, in fact, the patient waking up and saying, ‘I’m Trevor’,” she said.
“At that point, checks are done, forensic tests. And it’s confirmed that, in fact it’s Trevor in the hospital bed. And really sadly, it’s Joshua who has died.”
Families of both teenagers will be offered the support of specialist services, police said.
Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane said it came as “a huge shock to everyone, and we recognise the additional trauma this may cause.
“We are supporting Trevor and all the families through this and have engaged specialist agencies to help provide that support.
“I have also offered to meet with both sets of parents, as I am sure they will have many questions, most of which we are not able to answer yet, but we are absolutely committed to understanding how this happened so it cannot happen again.
“We have taken the decision to refer ourselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
“We will co-operate fully with any subsequent investigation and will be led by the IOPC on the next steps to determine how this happened, and how we can ensure this never happens again in the future.”
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An 18-year-old was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and a 19-year-old was held on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.
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Both have been bailed pending further inquiries.
In its statement, SYP said: “All of those involved have asked that we thank the public for their support but ask that they are now left in peace to process the future they now face.”
