Cops Told Wrong Family Their Son Was Dead

British parents planning a funeral for their 17-year-old son, who police said died in a car crash weeks earlier, suddenly learned he was, in fact, alive. South Yorkshire Police mistakenly believed Trevor "TJ" Wynn had died in the Dec. 13 car crash near Rotherham alongside a 17-year-old girl, and that 18-year-old Joshua Johnson had survived and was in a medically induced coma. Their error was revealed early Monday, weeks after the accident, when the comatose male woke up and said his name, the Telegraph reports.

Police then took Trevor's mother to the hospital, where she confirmed the teen was her son. "It has been heartbreaking for them," says a family friend, who notes it wasn't entirely happy news for the family as Trevor is "still in a bad place," per the BBC and Telegraph. In a statement to the Guardian, Johnson's family said they had spent "hours in hospital with who we now know to be Trevor," adding "what we have been through and are continuing to go through is unimaginable." A charity boxing event had been organized to cover expenses for Trevor's funeral, which was planned for Friday. In advance, mourners had laid flowers for him at a local youth center.

Local councillor Paul Thorp described the error as "disgraceful" and criticized the lack of "due diligence." Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane admitted the discovery was a "shock to everyone" and may have caused "additional trauma." "We are absolutely committed to understanding how this happened so it cannot happen again," he said, noting the force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which will investigate the identification. He said both affected families are being offered specialist support.