A woman has appeared in court charged with causing the deaths of two eight-year-old girls in a vehicle collision at a primary school in Wimbledon. Claire Freemantle, 49, faces two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and seven counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving related to the incident at The Study Prep school in July 2023.

The fatalities involved Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, both aged eight, who died during the school's end-of-term celebrations. Several others were also injured, including Nuria’s mother, Smera Chohan, along with two other mothers, identified as Tamsyn Van De Vyver and a third woman, who was accompanied by her seven-month-old baby. Additional injured parties include two eight-year-old girls and a seven-year-old girl.

Freemantle appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where she confirmed her identity but was not required to enter a plea. She was allowed to sit beside her lawyer rather than in the dock and was granted unconditional bail ahead of a scheduled hearing at the Old Bailey on 14 July.

Police initially concluded that Freemantle had suffered an epileptic seizure at the time of the crash and decided not to bring charges, a decision that drew criticism from the victims’ families. The Metropolitan Police later reversed this stance, issuing an apology for their initial handling of the investigation and acknowledging the impact on those affected. Scotland Yard announced plans to fundamentally reform its approach to investigating fatal and serious collisions following the case.

Freemantle’s legal team has indicated that she intends to plead not guilty to all charges. The case remains pending as it proceeds to a higher court for further examination.