A man who died after being hit by a car a decade ago has finally been identified, thanks to the efforts of a South Yorkshire officer who worked on the case in his spare time.
Bryan Woolis, previously thought to be named Brian Wallace, died just metres from his home in Walthamstow, London, when he was struck by a Mercedes on 22 January 2015. No records of his identify could be found.
Insp Nik Dodsworth took up the case after learning of Mr Woolis’s possible links to Sheffield.
He said: “It was a sad thing to have a man die and be buried without being correctly identified.”
The Star newspaper first shared an appeal in January 2024 from Locate International, a UK charity dedicated to locating the missing and naming the unidentified.
Insp Dodsworth said the article spurred him into action.
“They had two good quality photos of the victim, but despite this, he had still not been identified,” he said. “I found that quite sad.”
Going through old case files Insp Dodsworth had sourced from the Met, he found a partial DNA match for the man.
He consulted the Police National Computer database, which returned the man’s true identity – Bryan Alwyn Woolis.
Insp Dodsworth then found the online obituary of the man’s father, Alwyn Woolis, who died in Derbyshire in 2016. He had three children, including Bryan.
Mr Woolis had lived a quiet life by choice, and had not seen his sister since the early 2000s when she moved from London to look after their father, Insp Dodsworth said.
“Despite not being close, she experienced grief at Bryan’s death,” he added.
“She had heard a rumour that Bryan had died of natural causes but could not find anything to corroborate this.”
As it was not considered unusual not to hear from Mr Woolis for long periods of time, he was not listed as a missing person.
Insp Dodsworth said people dying without being formally identified is “not as uncommon as you might expect”.
The driver was given a suspended sentence after the incident, but the case remained open due to the unidentified victim.
Locate International is working to secure a new headstone for Mr Woolis’s grave at Manor Park Cemetery in London with the correct spelling of his name, which Insp Dodsworth said “has to happen”.
He added: “I got a sense of satisfaction from getting to the bottom of this mystery, putting a name to the victim of a tragic road traffic collision from 10 years ago.
“I am glad that they [the family] finally have some closure on this tragic incident and can begin to rebuild.”
