A girl has died and a woman in her 40s has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a car crashed into a girls’ prep school building in Wimbledon, south London, the Metropolitan Police said.
The Metropolitan Police also said a woman in her 40s had been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
A statement said: “We can now confirm that sadly a child has died following an incident where a car collided with a building at a school in Wimbledon.
“We can also confirm that the driver of the vehicle, a woman aged in her 40s, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving
“There have been further injuries and we await an update from the London Ambulance Service.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland, local police commander for south-west London, said: “This is tragic news and our thoughts are with the girl’s family and friends, and everyone affected today.
“We remain at the scene and are continuing our investigation into the full circumstances of the incident.”
It was reported that seven children and two adults had been hurt after a Land Rover crashed into a building at a girls’ prep school on the last day of term. The driver stopped at the scene of the crash at The Study Preparatory School in Camp Road, in Wimbledon, southwest London, and no arrests have yet been made, the Metropolitan Police said.
The incident, which saw officers, firefighters and paramedics, including London’s Air Ambulance, respond at around 9.54am on Thursday, is not being treated as terror-related. Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond told the the PA news agency several of those hurt were “critically injured”.
He said: “Since being declared by the local police a major incident, you’ve seen that we’ve had fire, air ambulance, ambulance and police on the scene.
“There are a number of people who are critically injured as I understand it and given the scale of the response from emergency services… this is a very serious incident.”
He added The Study Prep is a “very well-known and family-based school”. The Conservative MP said where the school is located “generally will be regarded as an area where you wouldn’t see very much speeding”.
