The parents of a girl killed when a Land Rover ploughed into a Wimbledon prep school have shared the last photograph taken of her just moments before she died.
Nuria Sajjad, eight, and her mother Smera Chohan, posed for the snap a minute before the £80,000 vehicle smashed through the playground fence of The Study, an all-girls’ preparatory school in south west London.
Parents and pupils were enjoying an outdoor end-of-term tea party when the tragedy happened at roughly 10am on July 6 last year.
Another eight-year-old girl, Selena Lau, was killed and several others injured.
NatWest HR manager Mrs Chohan, 47, was at her daughter’s side in St George’s Hospital, Tooting when her life support machine was turned off.
But she could not give Nuria a last hug because she was in a wheelchair from her "own broken body".
A 46-year-old woman from Wimbledon arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving in July and bailed until January.
But six months on, Nuria’s father Sajjad Butt told BBC London they have been left traumatised and bewildered by what they perceive as a lack of progress in the Metropolitan Police investigation.
He said: “Ultimately, our status of essentially waiting for what we want and need - justice - it is still very much the status quo.
“We have just had an extraordinarily difficult Christmas without Nuria. It was her favourite time of year. She adored it.
"She loved this period, and the emptiness we felt on Christmas Day - I have never felt that empty.
"We try and fill our days with moments of distraction and joke and laugh just to feel something, but overwhelmingly the feeling we have every day is hollowness."
Mrs Chohan added the couple, who live in Kingston-upon-Thames, were speaking out believing they might get answers.
"We shouldn’t have to do this," she said.
"Our daughter was killed six months ago. We need a little bit more than these tiny steps that happen. We were just an ordinary family - we didn’t know that we need to ask for answers. The fact that we have to ask is a question in itself."
On Saturday, a private ceremony of remembrance for the bereaved families will be held in Wimbledon. It will also be a celebration of the two girls.
Inquests into the deaths of Nuria and Selena were opened and adjourned at Inner West London Coroner’s Court on July 12.
Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland, in charge of policing for south west London, said: “Our thoughts remain with the families of Nuria and Selena, who we know are greatly loved and missed.
“This was a tragic incident and we understand that the families want and need answers as to what happened.
“We recognise that the time taken can cause further distress but it is only right and fair to all involved that we carry out a thorough and extensive investigation.”
