A file image of Nuria Sajjad.
Credit: X/@FTKZimula
London: The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has taken a decision not to charge the female driver involved in a freak accident that killed an Indian-origin schoolgirl as she lost control of her vehicle due to a sudden epileptic fit.
Nuria Sajjad was killed along with a fellow schoolmate, both eight years old, when a Land Rover crashed through a fence at their Study Preparatory School in Wimbledon, south-west London, last July.
Jaswant Narwal, Chief Crown Prosecutor with oversight of the Crown Prosecution Service London Homicide Unit, described it as an “unthinkable tragedy” but concluded on Wednesday after a “lengthy and detailed investigation" that it was not in the public interest to pursue a criminal investigation.
“The driver of the vehicle had an epileptic seizure behind the wheel, which caused her to lose control of the vehicle which then drove into the school,” said Narwal.
“There is no evidence the driver had ever suffered a similar seizure before and she had no previously diagnosed medical condition. Because there is nothing to suggest the driver could have done anything to predict or prevent this tragedy, it is not in the public interest to pursue a criminal prosecution,” she said.
The prosecutor said that in reaching this decision, the CPS considered the driver’s full medical records, obtained by police, and received evidence from neurological specialists, who agreed that the driver had a seizure and that this was the first such medical episode she had experienced.
“The death of a child is an unthinkable tragedy for any parent...Throughout this process we have met with the bereaved families on several occasions, to ensure they are kept informed of the case progress and to fully explain the decision we have made. Our thoughts remain with them today, as well as with the other injured victims and the wider school community upon whom this tragic incident has had a profound impact,” she added.
The driver of the vehicle in her mid-40s, Claire Freemantle, has voluntarily surrendered her licence and, following her diagnosis, will need to be a year free of any seizures before she can reapply for it again.
In April, Nuria’s parents Smera Chohan and Sajjad Butt had sought answers over the lengthy delays in the investigation into the incident, after which Freemantle had been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and released on bail.
Chohan was also seriously injured in the accident as she posed for a picture with her daughter on the fateful day just before the vehicle crashed into the school.
Following the CPS statement this week, the families of both girls said "justice has neither been done, nor has been seen to be done today".
"All the victims of the events of 6 July 2023 did nothing wrong. We were all in the safest place we could have been outside our own homes. We were celebrating a day filled with joy. Nuria and Selena’s lives were taken in a moment. Some of us will never experience joy again," their joint statement reads.