Family pay tribute to ‘loveable’ teenager after police mistakenly told them he survived car crash
The family of a “lovely, kind” teenager who died in a car crash have spoken of “unimaginable” distress after police mistakenly said he had survived.
Joshua Johnson, 18, died in a crash with a 17-year-old girl on Todwick Road, Rotherham, on December 13.
However, South Yorkshire Police (SYP) initially identified 17-year-old Trevor Wynn as the deceased child and police notified his family. Meanwhile, Mr Johnson was thought to be injured and under sedation in hospital.
But the force admitted it referred itself to the police watchdog after “information emerged”, which led to further checks. In what was described as a “terrible” mix-up, tests on Sunday confirmed Mr Wynn was in fact the teenager being treated in hospital and Mr Johnson was the boy who died.
Mr Johnson’s loved ones paid tribute to the 18-year-old, describing him as a “lovely, gentle giant”.
In the statement made through the police, his family also said that they spent “hours in the hospital with the person we now know to be Trevor.”
“What we have experienced and experienced is unimaginable.
“From the moment we were told of the collision in December, we and many of our loved ones spent hours in the hospital with the person we now know to be Trevor. We never wanted him to be alone. Only those we shared this time with could understand how it took so long.
“Neither we nor Josh’s brother can imagine life without him, and we ask that our privacy be respected as we try to adapt to this new world and begin our journey with nothing but grief.”
Speaking of Mr Johnson, his family said: “At 18 and discovering his independence, he was more genuine than ever in his care for others – us, his brother, his grandparents, his extended family and his many friends.
“Many of our happiest family memories were made during stock car racing. As new parents we took Josh to his first stock car meet when he was just six weeks old and he has been passionate about it ever since. We have created such a great circle of friends through stock car racing and we are so grateful for the support they and others have shown us over the last few weeks and days.”
“We will enjoy our holidays as family and with friends; we explored the world together and that was something Josh loved.”
Police had previously announced that an 18-year-old young man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, and a 19-year-old young man was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. Both were released on bail pending further investigation.
The force approached the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) regarding the identification process following the incident.
Deputy Chief Constable Colin McFarlane vowed to make sure such an incident never happens again.
He said: “This has obviously been a huge shock to everyone and we recognize 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 they will have many questions, many of which we cannot yet answer, but we are absolutely determined to understand how this happened so that it does not happen again.”
He added: “We will fully cooperate with any subsequent investigation and will be led by the IOPC on the next steps to establish how this happened and how we can ensure this never happens again in the future.”
However, citizens in the community were uneasy.
Rother Valley MP Jake Richards said: “This is a terrible situation for the families involved. To receive misinformation about the death or survival of a loved one is unimaginably distressing and my thoughts are with everyone affected, particularly the family of Joshua Johnson, and Trevor Wynn and his family, who continue to receive treatment.”
“Serious questions must be answered about how such a failure occurred,” Mr. Richards said, adding that “families deserve integrity and dignity.”
