Dad reveals agony after bungling cops told him teen son survived crash – only to find out he was dead 3 weeks later

A DAD has revealed his agony after bungling police wrongly told him his teen son had survived a horror crash that killed him.

Joshua Johnson, 18, died in the horror in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, along with Summer Louise Scott, 17, on December 13.

But South Yorkshire Police initially reported Trevor Wynn, 17, was the one who had died in the crash – even though he was under sedation in hospital.

Families for both Trevor and Joshua were informed – with one set of parents believing their son had tragically died and vice-versa for 22 days.

But three weeks later, “information came to light”, which led to further checks taking place – including forensic testing.

These tests confirmed Trevor was the one in hospital receiving treatment and Joshua was sadly the teen who had died.

The delay meant Trevor’s family spent Christmas grieving him, while Joshua’s loved ones hoped he would pull through in hospital.

An inquest today heard how the tragic mistake unfolded following a mix-up in the teens’ ID cards.

Joshua’s dad Lee Johnson told his how he and his wife spent weeks at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital believing they were sitting with their seriously injured son, only to be told there had been a mistake.

He said: “This information came as a huge shock and I cannot comprehend it.

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“It felt like, as a family, we had two deaths.

“I felt I had missed out on the initial grieving part of the process.”

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Knowles, of South Yorkshire Police, previously said the mix-up began when a number of items of scattered personal property were found at the scene.

One of these items was a phone in a case, which also contained Joshua Johnson’s driving licence.

A second phone nearby contained medical ID information in the name of Trevor Wynn, and a bank card in the same name was also attached.

Mr Knowles told the court earlier this year how a colleague used the ID to track down next of kin details for Trevor and then phoned his mum.

She provided the officer with a college ID card, as well as a description of his build and footwear.

DCI Knowles said: “That officer then took this ID card to Rotherham mortuary where, at that time, the deceased victim of the collision was booked in as an unknown male.

“Upon considering the comparison between the male’s features against the ID, and also considering the descriptive details of build and clothing, the officer was satisfied that this was the body of Trevor Wynn.”

He said a second officer travelled in the ambulance with the surviving teen, who was interacting with paramedics at the scene before he was sedated.

That officer was passed information about this person being Joshua by colleagues at the crash site and was able to obtain a photograph his driving licence.

DCI Knowles told the court: “The officer liaised with medical staff and the photograph was compared against the casualty.

“Those present were then satisfied that this person was Joshua Johnson.”

Joshua’s family tragically kept a vigil at the hospital for three weeks believing he was the one in a coma.

It was only when his dad contacted South Yorkshire Police expressing concerns when Trevor came out of sedation that the horrific truth emerged.

The inquest heard forensic odontologist Dr Roland Kouble carried out tests that confirmed the dad’s fears.

Senior coroner Nicola Mundy ruled Joshua had been unlawfully killed.

In a separate inquest for Summer, Doncaster Coroner’s Court heard she was driving the Toyota and lost control as she approached a slight bend.

The car went across a verge and hit a low wall which caused it to roll in the air before it struck a mature tree almost 50m from the road.

The inquests heard how police investigators used the tracking app Life360, which was on one of the phones in the car, to determine that the car was travelling at 95mph for about a kilometre before the crash.

It then slowed to 86mph about 130m before the bend.

The inquest heard how Summer had a provisional driving licence but had not passed her test.

The coroner concluded she died as a result of a road traffic collision and Mr Johnson was unlawfully killed.