A 17-YEAR-OLD boy who was a passenger in a car crash that killed two close friends has been cautioned for possession of drugs.

The youngster was in the front passenger seat of a Ford Escort that crashed into a BMW at the junction of Southsea Avenue and Glendale Gardens, in Leigh, at 12.50am on December 27.

Reigan Knight, 17, died at the scene, while his friend Liam Phillips, also 17, later died in hospital.

At the time, Essex Police wrongly announced the 16-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply.

The 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possession of cannabis and has now been cautioned.

The driver, of Great Wakering, has been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

He will appear at Basildon Crown Court on Friday.

Inquests into the deaths of Reigan and Liam were opened and adjourned last week.

Chelmsford Coroner’s Court heard Reigan was a back-seat passenger in the Ford Escort and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination gave the provisional cause of death as a torn aorta.

Liam was rushed to the Royal London Hospital with a serious head injury.

A post-mortem examination gave his cause of death as “raised intercranial pressure”.