The driver of a Land Rover that crashed into a school in Wimbledon, killing two children, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, the Metropolitan police have said.
Claire Freemantle, 48, previously expressed her “deepest sorrow” for the families of Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, both eight, who “suffered such dreadful loss and injury” in the July 2023 incident at the Study Prep school in south-west London. Pupils at the school had been celebrating the last day of the summer term when the crash happened.
Freemantle was first arrested at the scene of the crash in July 2023. In June last year, the Crown Prosecution Service said Freemantle would face no criminal charges as she had suffered an epileptic seizure and had not been diagnosed with the condition before.
But the girls’ families said they were unconvinced the investigation had been carried out thoroughly, and in October the force said it would reopen its inquiry.
After the arrest, Det Supt 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.”
A spokesperson for the Met confirmed that Freemantle was still in custody on Tuesday evening.
The girls’ parents said in a statement: “We welcomed the reopening of the investigation in October 2024 by the Metropolitan police into the death of our beautiful girls and the harm caused to those injured and who witnessed the tragedy on that sunny July day.
“It is important that this investigation runs its course unhindered and that each step taken is done so in the pursuit of truth and the full facts. As the investigation continues, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
Appealing for more witnesses, Basford said: “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.”
