North Yorkshire Police has apologised to two mothers whose sons died in a crash on the A61 over the actions of officers following the fatal collision.
17-year-olds George Thomas Turner and Mason Pearson died after the Volkswagen Bora that they were travelling in collided with a Ford Focus on March 7, 2018 on the A61 between Busby Stoop and Carlton Miniott, near Thirsk.
Their mums, Angela Pearson and Sarah Turner, went to the scene after hearing about the collision.
When she arrived Mrs Pearson was initially told her son Mason was “fine”.
She told the BBC she was met at the scene by police stopping vehicles, and the police constable she spoke to “radioed up and said that Mason was fine, he was alive”.
Mrs Pearson said that once she was told her son had died, “there didn’t seem to be a lot of compassion or empathy”.
“We were sent on our merry way with no information about what to do, nobody came to see us and we didn’t receive a phone call.
“It was the longest night of our lives.”
Mrs Turner said she also attended the scene and watched on as firefighters dismantled the car to get to those inside.
She said that after a while “the fire service turned the machinery and a big halogen lamp off and started to walk away”.
“One of them came back and from about seven foot away he just threw a blanket over [George’s] head and that was the moment I knew he’d gone, that image will live with me forever.
“Nobody said, ‘come and sit down, I need to explain something’,” she added.
24-year-old Luke Ridley, the driver of the Volkswagen, was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment for causing the death by dangerous driving.
William Corser, 18, who was in another car and racing Ridley when the crash happened, was jailed for 16 months after admitting dangerous driving.
The two mums met the pair who were jailed over their sons’ death as part of a restorative justice scheme.
Although they said the men were not remorseful, the process empowered them to talk to the emergency services about their experiences.
A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said: “We recognise that the way that we initially responded to and supported the two families of those who had died, in the aftermath of the collision, was below the standard we should have achieved and added to their distress.
“We are very sorry that the level of service we provided fell short, and for any additional distress that was caused, and we would like to thank them for raising this with us so that we can ensure it does not happen again.”
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