A family who spent three weeks at the bedside of who they wrongly believed was their unconscious son following a car crash only to be told he had in fact been killed instantly said today it felt like they had endured ‘two deaths’.
An ‘unimaginable blunder’ which saw the fates of the families of Joshua Johnson and Trevor Wynn swapped for 22 days sparked horror and incredulity when it was revealed last January.
Seventeen-year-old Trevor’s parents were told he had died in the crash near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, last December along with driver Summer Scott, also 17, with a badly injured passenger believed to be Joshua, 18, left in a coma in hospital.
But in a staggering mix-up, it was only when he started to regain consciousness the following month that it emerged he was in fact Trevor, whose family were days away from holding his funeral.
Today an inquest into Joshua’s death – held in a courtroom packed with relatives – heard of his parents’ double devastation at first being wrongly told by police that he had narrowly survived the 86mph smash, and then coming to terms with the fact he had in fact died.
Learning that the unconscious teenager at whose hospital bed they had spent three weeks keeping vigil was not their son had been ‘a huge shock’ which his family ‘couldn’t comprehend,’ Josh’s father Lee, 53, said.
‘It felt like as a family we’d had two deaths,’ he added in a statement read by the coroner. ‘I felt like I’d missed out on the initial part of the grieving process.’
The family of Joshua Johnson, 18, were informed by officers he had survived the collision – but he was in fact pronounced dead at the scene
It was only when Trevor Wynn, 17, finally opened his eyes in hospital weeks later that the catastrophic mistake made by police was finally unveiled
Pictured: Joshua Johnson. South Yorkshire Police told Joshua’s family he was battling for life in intensive care – while passing their condolences to the family of Trevor Wynn
Mr Johnson described how South Yorkshire Police contacted him and his wife at 8am on the morning of the crash at their home in Rotherham to say two teenagers had died and that Josh was in an induced coma in hospital.
‘For the next two weeks, Hannah and I visited and stayed with who we believed at the time to be Josh,’ he added.
But on January 4 it ‘transpired that the male who we had been visiting at hospital was not in fact Josh and was a male by the name of Trevor’.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is still investigating the horrendous mix-up after previously saying it was ‘clear something has gone very wrong’, leading to ‘awful consequences’ for the two families, who did not know one another.
Following the smash on Todwick Road in the early hours of December 2025, items of Joshua and Trevor’s personal property were found scattered around the scene.
These included a phone in a case which also contained Joshua’s driving licence, and a second phone plus a bank card both in the name of Trevor Wynn.
Police used the information to contact Trevor’s mother Charlotte, who provided a college ID card, a description of his build and footwear.
An officer booked the body into Rotherham mortuary where after comparison with the ID he was ‘satisfied’ it was Trevor, a previous hearing was told.
Joshua (pictured) was a ‘gentle giant’ with a ‘massive heart’, his family told the inquest
Trevor Wynn (pictured) was subsequently discharged from hospital and has been making ‘an amazing recovery’
The vehicle was being driven by Summer Scott, 17, from Worksop, who also died in the tragedy
Meanwhile the surviving teenager – now known to have been Trevor – was taken by ambulance to Northern General Hospital in Sheffield accompanied by a different police officer.
Here he was sedated as part of his treatment and underwent CT scans, with medical staff ‘satisfied’ based on the photograph from his driving licence that he was Joshua.
He was later transferred to Rotherham Hospital where it emerged on January 4 he was in fact Trevor.Â
A reconstruction of the double tragedy established that Ms Scott – who had not passed her driving test – had been driving at 95mph in her ageing Toyota, Doncaster Coroner’s Court heard.
As she approached a ‘sweeping’ left-hand bend in the 19-year-old vehicle, she pressed the brakes, slowing to about 85mph.
But the rear of the car swung out and it ploughed through a hedge, rolled through a field and struck a tree.
Accident investigator Peter Gallagher told the hearing that a Formula One racing driver would have been unable to navigate the bend at that speed.
All three occupants are believed to have been wearing seatbelts and the car was found to have no mechanical defects.
Summer died when the Toyota in which they were travelling left the road and struck a tree
Tributes left at the scene of the deadly crash near Todwick, Rotherham on December 13, 2025
Two youths driving a Ford Focus ‘in convoy’ a short distance behind the Toyota were arrested, and a Snapchat clip filmed by the passenger was examined.
But the inquest heard police concluded the second vehicle had not been travelling sufficiently close to prevent Summer from braking, meaning no criminal offence had been committed.
After the mix-up was revealed, Joshua’s identity was established beyond doubt by dental records.
A pathologist concluded he had died from multiple traumatic injuries caused by a road traffic collision.
Rotherham coroner Nicola Mundy today concluded that Joshua had been unlawfully killed, saying Summer’s driving had ‘all the elements’ of gross negligence manslaughter.
This included driving her vehicle at ‘high speeds’ on ‘unlit country roads,’ she added.Â
Earlier in a separate hearing she concluded that Summer had died in a road traffic collision.Â
Afterwards, the IOPC said its ‘investigation into the circumstances surrounding the misidentification of two people involved in the collision is at an advanced stage’.
South Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane said: ‘First and foremost, on behalf of all involved in this investigation, I reiterate our deepest sympathies to the families of Joshua and Summer as the inquests into their deaths conclude today.Â
‘Our thoughts also remain with Trevor and his family who have also endured unprecedented upset and uncertainty.
‘We recognise the shock and significant distress caused by the misidentification following the collision on Todwick Road, and the unimaginable consequences this had for the families involved.Â
‘Only those involved can truly understand. Our family liaison officers remain engaged with them and will continue to do so.
‘The inquests have provided an opportunity to understand what happened during the collision, and the ongoing investigation by the IOPC continues to look at how the misidentification of Joshua and Trevor came to happen in the time that followed. ‘We continue to fully support the independent investigation and we await its findings in the near future.’
Mr McFarlane said the force had immediately ‘reviewed’ identification procedures and had now adopted new national guidance issued in August.
After his death was confirmed, Mr Johnson’s family described him as a ‘loveable, gentle giant’ and said they had spent ‘hours in hospital with who we now know to be Trevor’.
The tribute read: ‘What we have been through and are continuing to go through is unimaginable.
‘From the moment we were told about the collision in December, ourselves and many loved ones have spent hours in hospital with who we now know to be Trevor.
‘We never wanted him to be alone.
‘Only those we shared this time with could understand how this went on for so long.
‘Neither us nor Josh’s brother can imagine life without him, and as we adjust to this new world and only just begin our journey with grief, we ask that our privacy is respected.’
Of Mr Johnson, his family said: ‘Whilst he was 18 and exploring his independence, he was ever so genuine 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 whilst stock car racing.
‘As new parents, we took Josh to his first stock car meeting at just six weeks old and he’s had a passion for this ever since.
‘Through stock car racing, we’ve built a massive circle of friends and we are so very thankful for the support they and others have shown us in the last few weeks and days.
‘We will treasure our holidays as a family and with friends – we explored the world together and this was something that Josh loved.’
