A woman has been charged over the Wimbledon school crash that killed two eight-year-old girls and left other children injured.
Claire Freemantle, 49, has been charged with causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving after the 4×4 she was driving crashed into The Study Prep School in Wimbledon, south-west London, on 6 July 2023.
Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, both aged eight, died in the incident. Several other pupils were also injured after families had gathered at the school to mark the end of term.
Freemantle is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 June.
The charge follows a review of the original investigation. After the first inquiry, the Crown Prosecution Service decided in June 2024 that Freemantle should face no further action.
That decision was revisited after concerns were raised by the families of Nuria and Selena, leading to a specialist reinvestigation.
Commander Charmain Brenyah, who leads the Metropolitan Police’s Roads and Transport Policing Command, said the families had been updated and that the force’s thoughts and sympathies remained with them.
She said the charges followed a “complex and rigorous reinvestigation” by detectives and confirmed there is also an ongoing Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation into the original police inquiry.
Brenyah added that the Met was sorry for how it had initially dealt with the incident and for the impact that had on those affected.
In a statement, Freemantle’s solicitor said her medical records had been handed to police and said the CPS had previously concluded she lost control of the vehicle because of an epileptic seizure.
He said that on 24 June 2024 prosecutors decided it was not in the public interest to bring charges.
Her lawyer added that since the crash Freemantle has suffered further seizures, remains under medical care and treatment, and believes the earlier CPS decision had been the correct one.
He said there were “serious questions” about why that decision had now been reversed, but added there would be no further comment while proceedings remain active.