Driver Charged in Fatal Wimbledon School Crash After Reversal

Claire Freemantle, 49, has been charged with causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving in connection with a July 2023 car crash that killed two eight-year-old girls and injured others at a school in Wimbledon, south London. The charges come after the Metropolitan Police reversed an initial decision not to prosecute, which had cited an epileptic seizure as the cause.

Freemantle is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 16 and plans to plead not guilty, according to her lawyers.

The crash occurred on July 6, 2023, when a Land Rover struck a fence and then hit The Study Prep school during an end-of-term tea party. Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, both eight, died in the incident. Several others were injured. The event took place before the summer holidays.

June 2024, the Metropolitan Police announced no criminal charges would be filed, attributing the crash to an epileptic seizure suffered by the driver. This decision drew criticism from the victims' families. Freemantle was arrested again in January and released under investigation.

The police later apologized for the initial handling and committed to resetting how they investigate fatal and serious collisions. " — Commander Charmain Brenyah, who leads the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command (GB News).

The girls' parents stated that the reversal vindicated their challenge to the original decision by the Crown Prosecution Service. They had rejected the June 2024 ruling, believing it was not based on full facts. >"From the very beginning, we have demanded one thing: the truth about why our daughters were killed.

" — The girls' parents, in a statement (GB News). The parents noted that the Metropolitan Police Specialist Crime Review Group's findings and the need for new evidence over the last two years supported their position. They expressed that the charges bring them one step closer to understanding the incident.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is reviewing claims of racism in the case, including allegations that officers provided false and misleading information to the victims' families. Four serving officers, including a commander and a detective chief inspector, are under investigation for gross misconduct.