Police mistake meant father only discovered his son had died three weeks after car crash

8 Sep 2026 • 5:24 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Police mistake meant father only discovered his son had died three weeks after car crash

  • Eighteen-year-old Joshua Johnson was ruled to have been unlawfully killed and 17-year-old Summer Louise Scott died in a road traffic collision near Rotherham.
  • South Yorkshire Police misidentified the victims, leading Mr Johnson's family to sit at the bedside of sedated survivor Trevor Wynn for three weeks believing he was their son.
  • Lee Johnson, the father of Joshua, told Doncaster Coroner's Court that he could not comprehend the mistake and felt his family had suffered two deaths.
  • The inquest heard that Miss Scott, who only held a provisional driving licence, was travelling at up to 95mph before losing control on a bend.
  • An Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation into the police error is near completion, with South Yorkshire Police recognizing the significant distress caused.

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