One Child Killed, Eight Injured in UK School Crash

Thu Jul 06 2023
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LONDON: An eight-year-old girl was killed, and eight other people, including seven children, were injured when a car collided with a primary school building in southwest London on Thursday. The incident took place at the private Study Prep girls’ school in Wimbledon. The police confirmed that they were not treating the incident as terror-related.

Local member of parliament Stephen Hammond stated in an interview with the BBC that some of the casualties were being treated as critical. He described the crash as “extraordinarily distressing and tragic.”

Aerial footage of the scene, which was not far from the Wimbledon tennis tournament, showed a Land Rover car positioned at an angle against the wall of the modern school building. The vehicle came to a stop in a grassed area near play mats and a table.

Wimbledon School Crash

Emergency services, including the police, ambulance, and fire service, were called to the scene on Camp Road near Wimbledon Common after the incident occurred just before 10:00 am (0900 GMT).

Witnesses and reporters at the scene mentioned that the road outside the school is narrow and would normally make it difficult to gather speed.

The Study Prep school educates girls aged four to 11 and has multiple sites. The youngest pupils are taught on Camp Road, near the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. According to the school’s website, Thursday was the last day of term for children aged four to eight.

The Metropolitan Police stated that several people were being treated at the scene and that the incident was not considered to be terror-related. An investigation is underway to determine the full circumstances of the incident. The driver stopped at the scene, and no arrests were made.

Health Minister Steve Barclay expressed his concern in a tweet and mentioned that he was being updated on the “distressing incident.” He conveyed his thoughts to those injured and affected by the incident.

 

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