The driving force of the four-by-four which crashed right into a main college in southwest London and killed schoolgirls Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau has been arrested after the Met Police reopened their investigation.
Each eight-year-olds died after being hit by the car, which crashed into the Research Prep college in Wimbledon on 6 July 2023. The incident occurred whereas the 2 ladies have been celebrating the final day of the summer time time period with their classmates and fogeys at a picnic.
The drive mentioned the motive force had been arrested for a second time on Tuesday, having first been arrested on the time of the crash and later advised she would face no additional motion. The 48-year-old stays in custody.
An inner overview was launched final 12 months after “issues” have been raised by the households of the 2 ladies, who mentioned they remained “unconvinced” that the investigation was performed totally.
It had beforehand been introduced in June that the motive force had suffered an epileptic seizure behind the wheel and wouldn’t face felony expenses.
Final summer time, prosecutors discovered the motive force of the automobile, Claire Freemantle, had by no means had an epileptic seizure earlier than and was in good well being earlier than the crash.
In a press release to the PA information company on the time, she expressed her “deepest sorrow” and mentioned she had “no recollection of what passed off” after shedding consciousness.
The Met mentioned the overview recognized strains of enquiry which required additional examination and, in October, the investigation was moved to the specialist crime command.
Following the arrest, detective superintendent Lewis Basford mentioned: “I want to take this chance to enchantment to any witnesses or people with info who’re but to talk to police to please come ahead.
“Had been you attending the native golf course or driving in or across the space of the Research Prep college in Wimbledon on the time of the collision? Did you see the car – a particular gold Land Rover Defender – within the lead-up to the collision?
“We consider there have been folks within the native space who haven’t been spoken to by police and stay unidentified. I’d ask these people to please contact us.
“Our primary precedence is to make sure the strains of inquiry recognized by the overview are progressed.
“This can be a dwell investigation and in an effort to preserve its integrity I can’t go into additional element at this stage. I’d urge folks to keep away from hypothesis.”
After the preliminary resolution that no additional motion can be taken was introduced, the dad and mom of Selena and Nuria launched a joint assertion.
They mentioned: “All of the victims of the occasions of July 6 2023 did nothing incorrect.
“We have been all within the most secure place we may have been exterior our personal properties. We have been celebrating a day full of pleasure.
“Nuria and Selena’s lives have been taken in a second. So many lives have been additionally irreparably shattered in that second.
“Tons of of individuals – dad and mom, academics, kids, neighbours, family and friends members – won’t ever lead ‘regular’ lives once more. A few of us won’t ever expertise pleasure once more.
“We now have tried to maintain religion within the techniques and establishments which are supposed to guard victims and ship justice to these affected. We now have been disenchanted by this method. We now have already expressed, publicly, our dissatisfaction with the tempo of the investigative course of.
“It’s now clear to us that the depth of the method is questionable too. Within the absence of any concrete proof on the contrary, we will solely surmise that the investigation has been equally poor.”
Anybody with info can contact police on 0207 175 0793 or 101 quoting CAD 6528/27Jan, or message the Met on X (Twitter) quoting the identical reference.
To stay nameless contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or on-line.
Extra follows on this breaking information story
#Police #rearrest #driver #crash #killed #ladies #Wimbledon #college