Tragic MIX-UP: Teen pronounced dead at crash site turns out to be alive. Second one believed alive had died

A horrible mix-up by the police in a car accident left two families devastated as one of them learnt that the son they had been mourning was actually alive, while the other, who thought their son was recovering, was dead. Joshua Jackson and Trevor Wynn were in a horrible car accident days before Christmas. A collision near Rotherham, England, on December 13 left one of them dead and the other unconscious with severe injuries. The police told Joshua's parents that their 18-year-old son was under sedation at the hospital. Meanwhile, Trevor's parents were told that their son had passed away. The family spent their Christmas grieving their "dead" son, only to learn three weeks later that Trevor was still alive. Joshua's parents believed their son was recovering, but instead they received the tragic news of his death. The error in identification was only clarified when the other teen regained consciousness and told the doctors, "I'm Trevor."

Joshua's parents were then delivered the heartbreaking news, who could not believe what they were hearing. Trevor sustained serious injuries in the accident, so much so that he was unidentifiable until he woke up and told everyone his name. According to reports, Joshua and Trevor are similar in appearance, which contributed to the shocking mistake. New forensic tests were carried out on the dead body, and it was confirmed that the crash had killed Joshua.

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Watchdog will investigate the Rotherham accident identification mix-up

The terrible mix-up is being investigated by the police watchdog. A police chief apologised for the mistake and has offered to meet both sets of parents to explain. He also affirmed that "we are absolutely committed to understanding how this happened so it cannot happen again." Three teens were involved in the accident, with the South Yorkshire Police saying that Trevor was pronounced dead at the scene. A 17-year-old girl was with him in the Toyota that crashed into a tree, while another teen was taken to the hospital.

A huge shock to everyone

On Sunday, concerns were raised about the identity of the victims. A fresh formal identification process was carried out, which confirmed that Trevor was alive. South Yorkshire's Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane said, "This has obviously come as a huge shock to everyone, and we recognise 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."