Police re-arrest driver over crash that killed two girls at Wimbledon school
The driver of the 4×4 which crashed into a primary school in south-west London and killed schoolgirls Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau has been arrested after the Met Police reopened their investigation.
Both eight-year-olds died after being hit by the vehicle, which crashed into the Study Prep school in Wimbledon on 6 July 2023. The incident occurred while the two girls were celebrating the last day of the summer term with their classmates, which had seen parents and pupils attend a picnic.
The force said the driver had been arrested for a second time on Tuesday, having first been arrested at the time of the crash and later told she would face no further action. The 48-year-old remains in custody.
An internal review was launched last year after 'concerns' were raised by the families of the two girls, who said they remained 'unconvinced' that the investigation was conducted thoroughly.
It had previously been announced in June that the driver had suffered an epileptic seizure behind the wheel and would not face criminal charges.
Last summer, prosecutors found the driver of the car, Claire Freemantle, had never had an epileptic seizure before and was in good health before the crash.
In a statement to the PA news agency at the time, she expressed her 'deepest sorrow' and said she had 'no recollection of what took place' after losing consciousness.
The Met said the review identified lines of enquiry which required further examination and, in October, the investigation was moved to the Specialist Crime Command.
Following the arrest, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said: 'I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to any witnesses or individuals with information who are yet to speak to police to please come forward.
'Were you attending the local golf course or driving in or around the area of the Study Prep School in Wimbledon at the time of the collision? Did you see the vehicle – a distinctive gold Land Rover Defender – in the lead up to the collision?
'We believe there were people in the local area who have not been spoken to by police and remain unidentified. I would ask those individuals to please contact us.
'Our main priority is to ensure the lines of inquiry identified by the review are progressed.
'This is a live investigation and in order to maintain its integrity I can't go into further detail at this stage. I would urge people to avoid speculation.'
After the initial decision that no further action would be taken was announced, the parents of Selena and Nuria released a joint statement.
They said: 'All the victims of the events of July 6 2023 did nothing wrong.
'We were all in the safest place we could have been outside our own homes. We were celebrating a day filled with joy.
'Nuria and Selena's lives were taken in a moment. So many lives were also irreparably shattered in that moment.
'Hundreds of people - parents, teachers, children, neighbours, friends and family members - will never lead 'normal' lives again. Some of us will never experience joy again.
'We have tried to keep faith in the systems and institutions that are supposed to protect victims and deliver justice to those affected. We have been disappointed by this system. We have already expressed, publicly, our dissatisfaction with the pace of the investigative process.
'It is now clear to us that the depth of the process is questionable too. In the absence of any concrete evidence to the contrary, we can only surmise that the investigation has been equally poor.'
Anyone with information can contact police on 0207 175 0793 or 101 quoting CAD 6528/27Jan, or message the Met on X quoting the same reference.
To remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.
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