The Metropolitan Police will re-investigate a Land Rover crash at a Wimbledon school which killed two eight-year-old girls.
The decision comes after “concerns” were raised by the families of Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, who died after the crash at the Study Prep school in Wimbledon, south-west London, on July 6 last year, about the initial investigation.
Officers said in July they believed the driver of the 4×4 had suffered an epileptic seizure behind the wheel and that they would not face criminal charges.
The school had been celebrating the last day of the summer term when the tragedy unfolded. Several other people were injured when the 4×4 crashed through a fence and hit a building.
Nuria's father Saj Butt, told the Daily Mail: “No parent should ever have to go through the pain my wife, Smera, and I have experienced over the past 15 months.
“The initial investigation seemed flawed and left so many unanswered questions.
“Now, as we put our lives on-hold again, we can only welcome the news that a new investigation has been launched with a new, specialist and more experienced team.
“While we know nothing will bring Nuria back, we hope this new investigation will finally uncover what really happened on 6 July 2023, and at last allow us, and the hundreds of others affected by what happened, to begin some sort of healing process.”
The former headteacher of the school, who held the role at the time of the crash had also previously said she felt “let down” by the police’s initial probe.
Helen Lowe told the BBC in July: “I think the words ‘thorough’ and ‘tireless’ suggest that you would have a body of evidence that you would be able to share… but in some areas there was just a complete lack of knowledge, of basic information.
“Maybe when they go away and look at the evidence, they will remember the answers. But there were a number of occasions where they weren’t sure if something had been done, or they couldn’t remember.
“At this moment in time, it would appear that I have been let down by them.”
The driver has previously expressed their “deepest sorrow” and said they had “no recollection of what took place” after losing consciousness.
A Met spokesperson said: “We believe this further investigative work will address all questions raised by the families affected.
“It will be undertaken by an accredited senior investigating officer and team with experience in homicide investigations.”
