Driver who crashed into Wimbledon prep faculty and killed two women lastly charged
Claire Freemantle, 49, has been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and seven counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving following the crash at The Study Prep school in Wimbledon
Selena Lau was killed in the crash(Image: Family handout/PA Wire)
The motorist behind a 4×4 that ploughed into a south-east London primary school has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving after two eight-year-old girls lost their lives.
Claire Freemantle, 49, faces two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and seven counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving following the tragedy at The Study Prep school in Wimbledon in July 2023. Pupils Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau perished in the incident as the school marked the final day of the summer term.
Freemantle’s legal team have confirmed she will enter not guilty pleas to all charges when she appears before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 16.
The charges follow fierce criticism from the victims’ families over the Metropolitan Police’s handling of the crash investigation, with the force announcing in June 2024 that the driver had suffered an epileptic fit and would face no criminal proceedings.
Freemantle, from Edge Hill, Wimbledon, was detained again and released pending further inquiries in January last year. Her solicitors said there are “serious questions to be answered” regarding why the decision not to prosecute her was overturned, in a statement released after charges were brought.
The Met issued an apology for its initial response to the incident and the “impact on those affected” – stating it will be “fundamentally resetting how the Met investigates fatal and serious collisions”.
Commander Charmain Brenyah, who heads the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command, stated in a release: “This will ensure our responses to incidents of this nature are more effective, providing better support and outcomes for victims and their families.”
Freemantle’s legal team have said that she is “utterly devastated” following the deaths of the two girls, but she has “no recollection” of the incident.
A statement from Mark Jones at Payne Hicks Beach LLP, representing Freemantle, read: “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.”
The statement further added: “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.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is currently investigating allegations of racism in the handling of the case by officers.
The watchdog had previously announced it was examining claims that officers provided “false and misleading information” to the families following complaints about the standard of the investigation.
Four serving officers, including a commander and a detective chief inspector, are under investigation for gross misconduct.
