‘Everyone affected’ by Wimbledon school crash, say shocked parents | UK News
Parents paying their respects at the scene of the Wimbledon crash have said “everyone is affected” by the tragedy.
The local community has been left reeling after eight-year-old Selena Lau was killed by a Land Rover that crashed into an end-of-term tea party at The Study Preparatory School on Camp Road in Wimbledon on Thursday.
Selena Lau
A second eight-year-old was in a “life-threatening” condition in hospital on Friday night, while a woman in her 40s remains in a critical condition.
A total of 16 people were treated at the scene and 12 – including a seven-month-old girl – were taken to hospital and their conditions have been assessed as not life-threatening, the Metropolitan Police said.
The injured adults were parents or carers and not staff at the school, they added.
The car crashed through the fence and into a building at the school in southwest London on Thursday morning.
The driver, a 46-year-old woman from Wimbledon, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and has been bailed pending further inquiries to a date later this month.
She was taken to hospital and her condition was assessed as not life-threatening.
A Land Rover Defender is seen inside the grounds of The Study Preparatory School in Camp Road, Wimbledon
‘Everyone’s affected by it’
One parent who brought their young child to the scene on Saturday said: “Everyone’s affected by it, everyone is questioning how it could’ve happened.
“I’m just feeling really sorry for the families of those affected and the kids who survived.
“It’s a quiet road, I’m wondering how can a car build up such speed in a short space of time, it’s crazy.”
Flowers left at the scene by Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis club
Amelia, 19, a Wimbledon local, used to attend the school in 2015. She and her brother laid flowers on Saturday afternoon to pay their respects.
She said: “I think The Study is a tightly-knit community, it’s quite a small school so even after people left, we are all together. We came to pay our respects became it’s not just a school, it’s a community as well.
“I think it’s quite sad because the school is far out of the way, it’s not on a main road, it’s not in the centre of Wimbledon, so it’s shocking that this happened.
“The only reason you’re coming down these roads is to go to the school or the golf clubs.”
Cards and flowers with moving tributes to the young girl were laid at the scene throughout Friday and Saturday.
Serena’s family said she was an “intelligent” and “cheeky” girl, “adored and loved by everyone”.