An inquest heard that South Yorkshire Police wrongly told the family of 18-year-old Joshua Johnson that he had survived a car crash near Rotherham, when he had in fact died, mistakenly identifying a surviving passenger as the deceased. The error meant Johnson's parents spent weeks at the bedside of another crash victim, 17-year-old Trevor Wynn, believing him to be their son, only discovering the truth when Wynn regained consciousness three weeks later. Joshua's father told Doncaster Coroner's Court the mix-up felt like the family had suffered "two deaths" and that he had missed out on the initial grieving process.

The crash occurred on 13 December when a Toyota Corolla driven by 17-year-old Summer Louise Scott, who did not hold a full licence, left the road near Todwick and struck a tree, killing both Scott and Johnson. Police explained the misidentification arose after personal items, including Johnson's driving licence and Wynn's bank card, were found separated from their owners at the scene, leading officers to wrongly match Wynn's identity documents to the deceased. The true identity was confirmed via dental records. The coroner ruled that Scott died as a result of a road traffic collision, having been travelling at up to 95mph before losing control on a bend, while Johnson was found to have been unlawfully killed; the IOPC confirmed it is investigating the police error.