4x4 driver charged over deaths of schoolgirls killed in crash at school tea party in Wimbledon
The driver of a 4x4 which crashed into a school’s end-of-term tea party, leaving two girls dead, has been charged three years on.
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Claire Freemantle, 49, has been charged with causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving after two eight-year-old girls were killed when a 4×4 crashed into a primary school in Wimbledon, south London, in July 2023.
According to her lawyers, Freemantle, 49, will plead not guilty to causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving and there are “serious questions to be answered” over why the decision not to charge her was reversed.
Mark Jones, criminal defence partner at Payne Hicks Beach LLP acting on behalf of Freemantle, said she would plead not guilty to the offences.
He said: “Our client, Claire Freemantle, has today been charged following the tragic deaths of Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau and injuries to others on 6 July 2023 in Wimbledon. She will be pleading not guilty to the charges brought against her.
“As a mother of school-aged children herself, Claire will be tortured for the rest of her life by the dreadful loss and injury resulting from the unimaginable tragedy of that day. She remains utterly devastated by the appalling consequences for all those so tragically affected.
“However, Claire has no recollection of that terrible tragedy. Moments before the crash Claire suffered an epileptic seizure with loss of consciousness and memory. This diagnosis was not offered by Claire herself or made by an expert instructed by Claire but by an independent medical expert instructed by the police.
"Witnesses at the scene have been quoted in the media as describing Claire as being delirious and having bitten through her tongue, characteristic of those who have just suffered an epileptic fit.
"Paramedics who saw her immediately afterwards described her as being in the ‘postictal state’ also symptomatic of those who have just suffered an epileptic fit.
“Claire offered the police her full medical records. The police confirmed these medical records showed that she had never previously suffered any symptoms of epilepsy. The CPS decision at that time was not to charge Claire because there was no element of legal responsibility.
“On 24 June 2024, after the first police investigation, Jaswant Narwal, a Chief Crown Prosecutor, publicly confirmed that: ‘The driver of the vehicle had an epileptic seizure behind the wheel, which caused her to lose control of the vehicle which then drove into the school. There is no evidence the driver had ever suffered a similar seizure before and she had no previously diagnosed medical condition.
“‘Because there is nothing to suggest the driver could have done anything to predict or prevent this tragedy, it is not in the public interest to pursue a criminal prosecution.’
“Throughout this second investigation, no further medical evidence has been submitted to contradict the diagnosis of epilepsy. We can, however, confirm that since 6 July 2023, Claire has suffered further seizures. The police are aware of these. She remains under medical care and treatment for her condition.
“We believe that initial decision by the CPS was the right one in these tragic circumstances and that there are serious questions to be answered about the reasons for its reversal today.
“There is a limit to what we can say and what should be said now that proceedings are live. There will be no further comment at this stage and Claire asks that her privacy and that of her family is respected by the media.”
Commander Charmain Brenyah, who leads the Metropolitan Police’s Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: “We have updated the families of this development and our thoughts and sympathies remain with them.
“These charges follow a complex and rigorous reinvestigation by detectives.
“There is an ongoing investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into the first investigation which we continue to fully support.
“While it is right that this matter be independently scrutinised, we are sorry for how we initially dealt with the incident and for the impact on those affected.
“We must now let both criminal proceedings and the independent investigation run their course. However, following a review of the Roads and Transport Policing Command we will be fundamentally resetting how the Met investigates fatal and serious collisions."
Last month it emerged that eleven Metropolitan Police officers are under investigation by the IOPC for their handling of the initial inquiry into the crash.
Four serving officers and a former officer are under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for possible gross misconduct.
Two detective constables are under investigation for possible misconduct.
Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau both died in July 2023 after a Land Rover crashed into an end-of-term tea party at The Study Preparatory School.
Concerns were voiced by the families of both girls about the handling of the initial probe after the investigation resulted in no further action being taken against the driver of the 4x4, with police stating she had suffered an epileptic seizure at the wheel and would face no criminal charges.
The investigation was reopened in October 2024 when a review identified further lines of enquiry.
Freemantle was rearrested and released on bail pending further investigations last year.