The family of a teenager badly injured in a car crash were told that he had died after a mistake in identifying him and another victim, police have said.
South Yorkshire police said it had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over the mis-identification, which happened after a serious collision on Todwick Road in Rotherham on 13 December.
Trevor Wynn, 17, was thought to have died in the collision alongside a 17-year-old girl, and his family were informed.
It was thought that Joshua Johnson, 18, had been injured and was under sedation in hospital.
But on Sunday, concerns were raised and further testing took place, confirming Wynn was the one in hospital and Johnson was the one who had died.
Before it was revealed that Wynn had survived the crash, tributes were shared online describing him as “the most caring lad with a soft soul” and a fundraising page was also set up which collected hundreds of pounds in donations.
South Yorkshire police say both families will be offered support from specialist officers and services.
Assistant chief constable Colin McFarlane said in a statement: “This has obviously come 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 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 IOPC to consider our role in the identification processes which were followed following the road traffic collision.
“We will cooperate 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.”
An 18-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. A 19-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. Both have been bailed pending further inquiries.
