THE PARENTS of two eight-year-old girls who were killed when a Land Rover crashed into their school have vowed to “uncover the truth”; of what happened that day two years on from the tragic incident.
Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau both died after, in Wimbledon, South West London on July 6, 2023.
The horror unfolded as a Land Rover Defender smashed through a fence while school children and staff were having a tea-party outside on the last day of term.
More thanin the crash, including a seven-month-old baby girl.
Speaking at a remembrance event on Sunday, Nuria’s mother Smera Chohan said: “We have had to fight very hard – harder than any victim should ever have had to – but we remain committed to uncovering the truth about what happened.”;
In January, the Metropolitan Police rearrested arrested48, on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
She remains in custody while investigations continue.
The 48-year-old was originally released after an initial investigation by the Roads and Transport Policing Command, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), concluded she should face no further action.
Freemantle claimed she had an epileptic seizure behind the wheel and faced no charges.
They added that there was no evidence Ms Freemantle had ever suffered a similar seizure before and she had no previously diagnosed condition.
A review was carried out by the Specialist Crime Review Group (SCRG).
It highlighted issues with how officers carried out the initial investigation.
It was revealed there was a key problem with establishing the evidence of an epileptic seizure, and diagnosis without brain scans.
“Our main priority is to ensure the lines of inquiry identified by the review are progressed. I would urge people to avoid speculation,”; Det Supt Lewis Basford said.
At the memorial on Sunday, hundreds of people from the joined Nuria’s mother Smera Chohan, her father Sajjad Butt and Selena’s parents Franky Lau and Jessie Deng.
Two benches dedicated to the victims’ memories were decorated with flowers and messages and a two minutes’ silence was observed.
Following a two minutes’ silence – one minute for each girl – Ms Chohan delivered an emotional speech.
“We still await answers for what happened on that fateful day... and with all your support, we will continue our fight until we have the answers we deserve,”; Ms Chohan said.
“Nothing is going to make our lives the same again... we were parents.
“I sometimes don’t know if I’m a mother, I need to know why I’m not a mother and Nuria deserved a thorough investigation.”;
Selena’s father added: “We are still waiting, we want a version of events that adds up.”;
Helen Lowe, who was the school’s headteacher at the time of the crash, said: “There are still no answers to what happened on that day, and in that two-year period, there have been a number of events which involved awful tragedy for children.
“But the people who perpetrated those events have had to be answerable, and we don’t have that, which makes it – for the parents and for us – impossible to move on.”;
To provide information you can contact the major incident room on 0207 175 0793, call 101 quoting CAD 6528/27Jan, or message @MetCC on X providing the CAD reference. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 oronline.
