Second Child Dies Following Study Prep Crash
Two eight-year-old girls hit by car which drove through picnic
The two 8-year-old children who were killed. Serena Lau (left) and Nuria Sajjad (right). Picture: Met Police
July 15, 2023
A second pupil from The Study Prep School in Wimbledon has died as a result of the crash that occurred last Thursday (6 July).
Following the confirmation that 8-year-old Serena Lau was died at the scene, it has been announced that Nuria Sajjad, also aged eight, was pronounced dead at St. George’s Hospital this weekend.
They are both believed to have been attending a picnic event in the garden area adjacent to Camp Road when Land Rover Defender ploughed through a wall and crashed into the school building shortly before 9:54am.
As well as the London Air Ambulance helicopter, 15 ambulance and 35 police vehicles attended the incident with paramedics treating the injured at the scene before 17 people, including the driver of the car, were taken to hospital.
Nuria’s family have released the following statement, “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved Nuria on Sunday, 9 July 2023. Nuria was the light of our lives. She embodied joy, kindness and generosity and she was loved by all around her.
“We would like to thank the efforts of the emergency services, all the extraordinary staff at St George’s Hospital, the parents of Nuria’s class fellows and staff of the Study Prep for all they have done to ease Nuria’s journey. “
Selena’s family said, "Selena was an intelligent and cheeky girl adored and loved by everyone. The family wishes their privacy to be respected at this sad time.”
Of the people taken to hospital one remains in a serious condition, a woman in her forties. The others, including a 7-month-old girl and the driver of the car, have injuries that have been assessed as non-life-threatening.
The driver, a 46-year-old woman from Wimbledon, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and has been bailed to a date in late July pending further enquiries.
Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland, local policing commander for south-west London, said, "It is difficult to imagine the pain and upset the families of those involved are going through and we will do all we can to support them as our investigation continues.
"I know the impact of this tragic incident is also being felt in the wider community and we are working with our partners to ensure the appropriate support is in place.
"This was the largest local policing deployment in south-west London since 2017 and our officers, along with members of the other emergency services, were met with a challenging and traumatic scene.
"I would like to praise them for doing all they could to help those injured. I have no doubt this incident would have also had a significant impact on them, and we will ensure their welfare is looked after.
"I understand many people will want answers about how this happened and there is a team of detectives working to establish the circumstances. I would ask the community to avoid speculating on a possible cause whilst these enquiries are carried out."
Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland addresses the press
Detectives from the Met's Serious Collision Investigation Unit are leading the investigation and their enquiries are ongoing. CCTV has been collected from a number of nearby buildings and a number of witnesses have been interview. The car has been removed from the scene and is subject to further examination. Any witnesses, who have not yet spoken to police, are asked to call 101 quoting CAD 2200/06Jul.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |