Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Jun 16

Claire Freemantle Faces 9 Charges Over 2023 Wimbledon School Crash That Killed 2 Girls

Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Jun 16

Claire Freemantle Faces 9 Charges Over 2023 Wimbledon School Crash That Killed 2 Girls

Q: What new evidence reversed the decision to charge a driver after a seizure was first blamed for the fatal school crash?

The reversal was driven by a reopened Metropolitan Police investigation that uncovered “extensive new evidence” after a Specialist Crime Review Group found the original inquiry had missed important lines of inquiry. Publicly, authorities have not spelled out the precise new evidence. What is known is that the review concluded further examination was needed, the case was reopened in October 2024, Freemantle was rearrested in January 2025, and a fresh evidence file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service in March 2026. That new file led prosecutors to reverse their earlier decision, which had relied on the view that she suffered an undiagnosed epileptic seizure. The families of Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau said the reopened investigation and the gathering of extensive new evidence vindicated their challenge to the original no-charge decision. Their criticism centered on the belief that the first decision had not been made on the full facts. So, the key answer is that the change was not triggered by one publicly identified piece of evidence, but by a broader reinvestigation that developed substantial new material and re-examined previously overlooked lines of inquiry, undermining the earlier seizure-based explanation enough for prosecutors to authorize charges.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 16

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard Claire Freemantle answer charges over the July 2023 Wimbledon school crash that killed eight-year-olds Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau and injured seven others.
The 49-year-old faces two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and seven counts of causing serious injury to parents and children at an end-of-term tea party on The Study Preparatory School lawn.
Freemantle was charged in May after prosecutors in 2024 had declined to bring a case, saying she had suffered an undiagnosed epileptic seizure during the crash.
Her lawyers have said she will plead not guilty; she was granted bail and is due at the Old Bailey on July 14.
The case still carries scrutiny beyond the courtroom, with the police watchdog investigating 11 Metropolitan Police officers over the initial inquiry.