close
close

Police do not press charges against driver who killed two London schoolgirls

The driver whose car ploughed into a London school, killing two eight-year-old girls, will not face charges after it was determined she suffered an epileptic seizure while driving, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau were killed and several others injured when a Land Rover crashed into the private Study Prep girls’ school in Wimbledon, southwest of the British capital, in July last year.

The victims’ parents then stated that they were “disappointed” with the justice system and that “Nuria and Selena deserved better.”

The driver, Claire Freemantle, suffered an epileptic seizure at the wheel, causing her to “lose control of the vehicle, which then drove into the school,” said Jaswant Narwal of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Narwal added that medical records and statements from neurological specialists showed that it was the first time the driver had suffered such a seizure and “there was no previously diagnosed medical condition.”

Advertisement – Scroll to continue


“As there is no evidence that the driver could have done anything to foresee or prevent this tragedy, it is not in the public interest to seek prosecution,” she added.

The parents of the victims commented on the outcome: “There are questions that remain unanswered. We are not sure that all doubts regarding the prosecutor’s conclusion have been dispelled.”

“As long as these doubts remain, we are not convinced that a fair and thorough investigation was carried out,” the parents added, adding that they had not been presented with “sufficient evidence.”

Advertisement – Scroll to continue


Clair Kelland, head of policing at the Metropolitan Police in south-west London, said it was understandable that “some are confused – perhaps even disappointed – by this result”.

In order to bring charges in such a case, Kelland explained, “the driver has to bear some responsibility, and under the circumstances, that simply was not the case in this case.”

Freemantle expressed her “deepest regret” in a statement, adding that she had “no memory of what happened” after she lost consciousness at the wheel.

Advertisement – Scroll to continue


“I can only express my deepest condolences to the families who have suffered such terrible loss and injury,” she said.

aks/phz/gv