Wimbledon school crash

Shortly before 09:54 BST on 6 July 2023, a Land Rover Defender crashed into an end-of-year tea party and injured several people, mainly children, at a girls' preparatory school in Wimbledon, south-west London, England.[1][2][3] One of the injured children died later that day and another on 9 July. The driver was arrested and bailed on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Wimbledon school crash
Date6 July 2023 (2023-07-06)
Time09:54 (BST (UTC+1))
LocationThe Study Preparatory School
Wimbledon, London
Coordinates51°25′34.38″N 0°13′54.3″W
TypeTraffic collision
Deaths2
Non-fatal injuries14

Incident

At 09:54 BST on 6 July 2023, the London Ambulance Service received calls of a collision at an end-of-year tea party at The Study Preparatory School, a preparatory school for girls aged four to eleven in Wimbledon's Camp Road, at the edge of Wimbledon Common.[1][2][4] A Land Rover Defender had crashed through the school's wooden fence and into a building.[2][5] It was the school's last day before the summer holidays.[5]

The London Ambulance Service declared a major incident.[6] Fifteen ambulances and thirty-five police vehicles were dispatched to the scene, as well as the London Air Ambulance.[1][2][6][7] Sixteen patients were treated at the school and ten patients were hospitalised.[1][6] Those injured included pupils, parents and carers, but not school staff.[7] Wimbledon and Putney Commons, who manage the Common, urged the public to stay away from the area to allow free access to the emergency services.[5][8] The incident prompted "the largest local policing deployment in south-west London since 2017".[7]

An eight-year-old girl died on the day of the crash. A second eight-year-old girl died on 9 July at St George's Hospital.[2] By the end of July, all the hospitalised children had returned home.[9]

The crash was not considered to be terror-related.[1] The driver, a 46-year-old woman from Wimbledon,[2][7] was hospitalised with a non-life threatening condition.[7] She was arrested and bailed on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.[2][6][7] On 20 July, she was rebailed until late September 2023.[9] On 23 September, she was rebailed until January 2024.[10]

Reactions

The crash prompted statements from politicians including Stephen Hammond, Wimbledon's MP,[5][6][11] Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London,[6][12] Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary,[5] Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary,[6] Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary,[6][8] and a spokesman for the Prime Minister.[6][8] Merton Council offered counselling to affected pupils, staff, and families.[2]

The incident was widely reported on the front pages of national newspapers the day following the crash.[13][14] The crash took place during the first week of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, hosted at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club 0.9 miles (1.4 kilometres) northeast of the school.[2][6][11]

Norman Baker, the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, commented after the crash that 4x4s are "completely inappropriate for urban locations".[15]

A week following the crash, anti-SUV campaigners in Broughty Ferry, a suburb of Dundee, Scotland, vandalised a Range Rover and left a warning letter with headshots of the deceased girls.[15][16] In August 2023, the Tyre Extinguishers activist group described their puncturing of the tyres of more than 60 SUVs at a Land Rover dealership in Exeter as an "act of retaliation" to the incident in Wimbledon.[3]

References
  1. "Seven children hurt as Land Rover crashes into Wimbledon school | Page 1". BBC News. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  2. "Second girl, 8, dies from injuries after Wimbledon school crash". BBC News. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  3. Gregory, Andy (7 August 2023). "Activists target Land Rover dealership in 'retaliation' for Wimbledon school crash". The Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  4. "Map of Wimbledon and Putney Commons" (PDF). Wimbledon and Putney Commons. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  5. Evans, Martin; Bird, Steve; Murphy, Michael (7 July 2023). "Wimbledon crash: Girl, 8, dead and 10 injured after car ploughs into school". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  6. Rawlinson, Kevin; Davies, Caroline (6 July 2023). "Several children injured in London primary school car crash". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  7. Clarke, Amy (10 July 2023). "Everything we know as car crashes into Wimbledon school leaving two girls dead". The Wimbledon Times. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  8. "Wimbledon school crash: Girl, 8, dies after car hits building". BBC News. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  9. Salisbury, Josh (28 July 2023). "Wimbledon crash injured all out of hospital, say police, as driver rebailed". Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  10. Walker, Amy (23 September 2023). "Woman arrested over fatal Wimbledon school crash rebailed". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  11. "Wimbledon school: Girl, 8, dies after car crashes into building | Page 2". BBC News. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  12. Khan, Sadiq (6 July 2023). "Statement on Wimbledon events". Twitter. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  13. "Newspaper headlines: 'Tea party horror' and 'strike to ground flights'". BBC News. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  14. "Top Stories". The Guardian. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  15. Roberts, Lizzie (15 July 2023). "'Will it be your SUV next?' Vandals target car after death crash". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  16. Hamilton, Lindsey (13 July 2023). "Range Rover vandalised in Broughty Ferry with neighbours threatened 'will it be your Suv next?'". The Courier. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
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