Claire Freemantle, 49, has been charged after the car she was driving was involved in a collision that resulted in the deaths of two schoolchildren with other pupils being left injured
Nuria Sajjad was killed in the crash (Image: PA)
A woman has been charged after the car she was in fatally struck two schoolgirls at a school in southwest London.
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.
She will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday, June 16. Several other children at the Study Prep School were also injured in the horror incident.
Families had gathered at school grounds on July 6 to celebrate the end of term. An initial investigation carried out by the Roads and Transport Policing Command resulted in a direction from the Crown Prosecution Service in June 2024 that Freemantle should face no further action.
After concerns were raised by Nuria and Selena’s families about the outcome, it was agreed that specialists would carry out a review of the investigation.
Commander Charmain Brenyah, who leads the Met’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. This will ensure our responses to incidents of this nature are more effective, providing better support and outcomes for victims and their families.”
In a statement on behalf of Claire Freemantle, Mark Jones, criminal defence partner at Payne Hicks Beach LLP, 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.”
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