Woman who died in crash on the Strand named as Aalia Mahomed
A woman who died in a fatal crash in central London on Tuesday has been named as 20-year-old Aalia Mahomed, the Metropolitan Police has said.Her family have paid tribute, describing her as a "beautiful soul who brought joy and laughter to everyone". Three others were hurt after a van hit pedestrians at about 11:40 GMT, close to King's College London and Somerset House, Aldwych.The Met has said the van driver, a 26-year-old man, arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and drug-driving offences has been bailed as investigations continue.
'Ray of sunshine'
The statement from her family added: "She was a ray of sunshine in our lives, and will be deeply missed by all her family and friends. "Her light will always live on in our memories and her smile will be our strength as we get through this difficult time."Her family are being supported by specialist officers.A 27-year-old woman remains in hospital in a serious but non life-threatening condition, while a 23-year-old man has since been discharged.
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The officer confirmed she had completed equality training, including on unconscious bias and discriminatory stereotypes, and said she was 'aware' of stereotypes relating to black people. She said she did not 'see the relevance' of the fact Child Q was being questioned by two white police officers. Mr Gold asked: 'Would you accept that a stereotype of black people is they may more likely to be stopped and searched?' 'No,' TDC Linge replied. 'Would you accept that a stereotype of black people is they are more likely to be in receipt of use of force by police?' he continued. 'No,' she responded. The 46-year-old denied she 'did not recognise Child Q as a child' and was, in effect, 'treating her as older than she was'. The former Pc previously admitted a series of failings in her actions during the incident, including not making a record of the search or considering proportionality, and recognised the search should not have happened, accepting it had caused the child 'harm and distress'. When asked whether she would have done anything differently had the circumstances been 'exactly the same' but Child Q had been white, TDC Linge replied: 'No.' TDC Linge said she suspected Child Q was carrying a 'small amount' of cannabis, based on what she could smell and information from teachers. Pc Szmydynski, who stood outside the room while the search took place, told the panel on Thursday that the school's deputy safeguarding lead and headteacher had repeated the phrase that Child Q was a 'danger to herself and others'. The panel heard Pc Szmydynski requested attendance of another female to 'assist us with searching if need be', before speaking to Child Q to assess whether there were grounds for a search. Child Q told him she smelled of cannabis as she had been with someone earlier that day who had smoked the drug which, along with information from teachers, formed grounds for the search, the officer said. He denied that a 'strip search' was discussed in front of him or between himself, the teachers and Pc Linge. The officer, who joined the Met Police in 2014, described the child as 'very cultured and very polite', adding that she was not rude 'at any point' during their interaction. The panel heard the child informed the officers who searched her that she was menstruating, but the search continued during which her sanitary pad was exposed. When no drugs were found, Child Q's hair was also scoured. According to the allegations, Pcs Linge and Szmydynski performed a search that exposed the girl's intimate parts when this was 'disproportionate in all the circumstances'. Pcs Linge and Wray are also accused of performing or allowing the search in a manner which was 'unjustified, inappropriate, disproportionate, humiliating and degrading'. All of this happened without authorisation, in the absence of an appropriate adult, and with no adequate concern being given to Child Q's age, sex, or the need to treat her as a child, and that the child's race was an effective cause of this, it is also alleged. Pcs Szmydynski and Linge are further accused of giving a 'misleading record' of the search afterwards. On Wednesday, TDC Linge told the hearing she did not accept accusations of breaches of respect of authority and respecting courtesy. The girl will not be giving evidence at the tribunal 'because of the psychological effects' the search has had on her, the panel has heard. Outrage over Child Q's treatment led to protests outside Stoke Newington Police Station. Scotland Yard has previously apologised over the incident.
