Thursday 6 July 2023
By Guy Birchall, news reporter for SKY NEWS
An eight-year-old girl has died after a Land Rover crashed into a primary school playground full of children in southwest London.
Earlier, police said seven children and two adults had been injured after a Land Rover crashed into a primary school in Wimbledon.
Up to 20 ambulances, an air ambulance and firefighters are at The Study Preparatory School on Camp Road after what police described as a “serious collision”.
A woman aged in her 40s, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. The driver stopped at the scene after the crash, police said.
Officers said the emergency services were called at 9.54am.
After the child’s death was confirmed Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland, local police commander for southwest London, said: “This is tragic news and our thoughts are with the girl’s family and friends, and everyone affected today.
“We remain at the scene and are continuing our investigation into the full circumstances of the incident.”
The Sky News team on the scene understand from officers at the scene the crash was caused by an out-of-control vehicle.
A child was also seen earlier being carried away by her parents, with a cut to her leg.
She was not seriously hurt but was described as being “absolutely shell-shocked”.
Wimbledon school crash – latest
Sky News understands a prize-giving may have been taking place at the time, with images showing a table apparently covered with a picnic blanket laid out in the school yard.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed the incident is not terror related adding that “an investigation is under way to understand the full circumstances of what has taken place”.
The independent school is for girls aged four to 11 and sits on Wimbledon Common, just a mile away from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as it hosts the world-famous tennis tournament.
It is understood that the car hit the area of the school which housed the younger girls, aged between four and eight.
The local MP Stephen Hammond described it as a “tragic end to the term” for the girls and said he was “led to believe some of the injures were serious and critical”.
Emergency services attend the scene of the fatal accident in Wimbledon.