Girl is killed and at least eight injured after Land Rover ploughs into children having tea party outside in Wimbledon
A girl has died after a Land Rover crashed into the end-of-term celebrations at a primary school in London and left at least eight other people injured.
Pupils aged as young as four were enjoying an outdoor tea party on the final day of term when tragedy struck at £16,000-a-year The Study Prep school in Wimbledon.
Scotland Yard said the driver of the Land Rover Defender vehicle, a woman aged in her 40s, had been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
Tables and chairs were crushed by the 4×4 before it hit the exterior wall of the main hall, just as teachers, students and parents were marking the start of the holidays.
At least eight people have been injured, with several believed to be in ‘serious’ and ‘critical’ conditions, while the school remains in lockdown. A major incident has been declared by Scotland Yard but officers said the incident was not terror-related.
Witnesses claimed families were sitting on the grass when the ‘out of control’ Land Rover Defender suddenly veered from Camp Road onto the lawn, forcing them to ‘jump out of the way’ – with one describing the crash as ‘like a bomb going off’.
Following the incident, one witness saw a little girl walking along the road with her parents wearing just her socks with no shoes – with her father also missing a shoe.
The driver is believed to have suffered a ‘medical incident’ while behind the wheel.
The vehicle crashed into Wilberforce House, a separate building which is used to teach children from Reception to Year 3, ranging from four to eight years old.
The Metropolitan Police said the motorist ‘stopped at the scene’, and an investigation to understand the ‘full circumstances’ was underway.
A local resident told MailOnline that he was told a woman had suffered a seizure before crashing. It is believed the driver had been leaving the nearby Royal Wimbledon Golf Club when the accident took place.
Worried parents rushed to the school and one couple were seen escorting their daughter, who was wearing a blue school uniform dress, to their car.
At least 20 ambulances were at the scene with the road leading to the school closed off by a police cordon.
Local residents said they feared there had been a terror attack as emergency vehicles converged on the scene.
A resident who lives nearby told the Standard: ‘I was told there was an end of term party when the car careered the school. Everyone is extremely shaken up.’