We are still in a waiting room, and our grief is doubled, quadrupled.
In the summer of 2023, two eight-year-old girls — Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau — were killed when a Land Rover struck a school party in Wimbledon, and the driver was never charged after claiming an undiagnosed epileptic seizure. Nearly three years on, their families are asking a question that cuts deeper than the crash itself: whether wealth and race quietly shaped how thoroughly the truth was pursued. Eleven Metropolitan Police officers now face misconduct probes, and an independent watchdog has been asked to determine whether the first investigation was guided by evidence — or by assumptions about who deserves the benefit of the doubt.
- Two young girls were killed at a school celebration, and the driver walked free on the basis of a medical claim that, by its very nature, could not be easily disproven.
- The families' grief has been compounded by the suspicion that investigators were less rigorous because of who the driver was — wealthy, white, and living steps from the school.
- A 2024 internal review found that key eyewitnesses present in the immediate aftermath of the crash had never been interviewed, exposing a significant gap in the original inquiry.
- The Met reopened the investigation, re-arrested the driver in January 2025, and the CPS is now weighing new evidence — but no charges have yet been brought.
- Eleven officers face misconduct proceedings and four face possible gross misconduct charges, while the IOPC examines whether families were misled and whether race influenced the investigation's conduct.
- Nuria's mother described her family as still sitting in a 'waiting room' of grief, fighting for answers they feel they should never have had to demand.
On a July afternoon in 2023, an end-of-term party at a Wimbledon preparatory school became a scene of devastation when a Land Rover struck a group of children. Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, both eight years old, did not survive. The driver, Claire Freemantle — who lived in a £4 million home near the school — told police she had suffered an undiagnosed epileptic seizure. The Crown Prosecution Service accepted the account, and she was never charged.
Nearly three years later, the families of the two girls have filed formal complaints alleging that officers showed unconscious bias in favour of Freemantle — that her race and class shaped how rigorously her version of events was examined. The Metropolitan Police has acknowledged the seriousness of the complaint: eleven officers now face misconduct probes, with four potentially facing gross misconduct charges.
The case turns on a medical claim that is inherently difficult to challenge. An undiagnosed seizure leaves no prior record, and the CPS noted that Freemantle had no history of any relevant condition. On that basis, the original decision not to charge appeared defensible. But when the Met reviewed the investigation in 2024, it found that key witnesses present at the scene immediately after the crash had never been interviewed — a gap significant enough to prompt a full reopening of the inquiry.
Freemantle was re-arrested in January 2025 on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and interviewed again in July 2025. She has expressed deep sorrow but maintained she has no recollection of the crash. The CPS received new evidence in March 2025 and was still weighing whether to bring charges at the time of this report.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct launched its own investigation in August 2025, examining whether officers provided false or misleading information, whether the families' treatment was influenced by race, and whether the original inquiry met proper professional standards.
Nuria's parents, Saj Butt and Smera Chohan, spoke publicly about their ordeal. "We shouldn't have to ask and ask — we should be on a half term with our daughter," Smera said. "We are still in a waiting room." The Metropolitan Police's roads commander acknowledged that the prolonged process had deepened the families' suffering and pledged full cooperation with the IOPC. The question that now hangs over the inquiry is whether the first investigation was shaped by evidence — or by unexamined assumptions about who deserved to be believed.
On a July afternoon in 2023, an end-of-term party at The Study Preparatory School in Wimbledon turned to catastrophe when a Land Rover plowed into a gathering of eight-year-old children. Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau did not survive. The driver, Claire Freemantle, a woman living in a £4 million home with her investment banker husband near the school, told police she had experienced an undiagnosed epileptic seizure. The Crown Prosecution Service accepted this account. She was never charged.
Now, nearly three years later, the families of the two dead girls are raising a harder question: whether the police investigation that cleared Freemantle was shaped by who she was. The grieving parents have filed complaints alleging that officers displayed what they call "unconscious bias" in her favor—that her wealth and race influenced how thoroughly investigators examined her version of events. The Metropolitan Police, in response, has acknowledged the complaint is serious enough to warrant independent scrutiny. Eleven officers now face misconduct probes over how they handled the initial inquiry.
The mechanics of the case hinge on a medical diagnosis that is notoriously difficult to confirm. An undiagnosed seizure, by definition, leaves no prior medical record. Brain scans must be performed shortly after the event, and a patient's full medical history must be carefully reviewed. The CPS stated that Freemantle had no prior diagnosis of any medical condition and had never had a seizure before the crash. On that basis, the decision not to charge her seemed defensible—or at least, not obviously wrong.
But when the Metropolitan Police conducted an internal review of the investigation in 2024, they found gaps that troubled them. The original Road Traffic Collisions Unit had failed to interview key witnesses who were present at the scene immediately after the crash. No one had systematically asked these people what they observed about Freemantle's behavior in those critical moments. When the Met reopened the investigation in October 2024, they appealed publicly for witnesses to come forward, specifically asking whether the driver's conduct was consistent with someone recovering from a seizure.
Freemantle was re-arrested in January 2025 on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. She underwent another police interview in July 2025. She has said she felt the "deepest sorrow" about the deaths but maintained she had "no recollection" of the crash itself. The Crown Prosecution Service received new evidence from police on March 17 and additional legal advice the following week. As of the reporting of this story, the CPS said it was still determining whether to bring charges, citing further factors that needed to be resolved.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct launched its own investigation in August 2025. The watchdog's scope is broad: it will examine whether Met officers provided false or misleading information to those affected, whether their treatment of the families was influenced by race, and whether the original investigation met proper standards of management and conduct. Among those under investigation are officers of commander rank down to detective constables, with four facing possible gross misconduct charges.
Saj Butt and Smera Chohan, Nuria's parents, spoke to the broadcaster LBC in February 2024, more than half a year after their daughter's death. "Whatever these answers are, we deserve them," Saj said. "I miss her every moment. I just want to know what happened." Smera described a family suspended in grief and legal limbo: "We shouldn't have to ask and ask—we should be on a half term with our daughter. Why are we here? We are not even healing yet, we've got this fight ahead and we are hopeful." She added: "Whatever happened on July 6 last year there will never be any winners. We deserve the respect of clarity, the respect of a thorough investigation and the respect of answers. Our grief is doubled, quadrupled, we are still in a waiting room."
Commander Charmain Brenyah, who leads the Met's Roads and Transport Policing Command, acknowledged the toll the prolonged process has taken. "Our thoughts remain with Nuria and Selena's families, as well as everyone who has been impacted by this terrible tragedy," she said. "We understand this prolonged process has compounded their grief and suffering. It is right that our initial handling of this incident be independently scrutinised, and we will provide every assistance to the IOPC as their investigation continues." The question now is whether that scrutiny will reveal what the families believe: that the first investigation was shaped not by evidence, but by assumptions about who deserved the benefit of the doubt.
Citações Notáveis
Whatever happened on July 6 last year there will never be any winners. We deserve the respect of clarity, the respect of a thorough investigation and the respect of answers.— Smera Chohan, mother of Nuria Sajjad
It is right that our initial handling of this incident be independently scrutinised, and we will provide every assistance to the IOPC as their investigation continues.— Commander Charmain Brenyah, Met's Roads and Transport Policing Command
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does it matter whether the initial investigation was thorough if the CPS decision was medically sound?
Because if officers didn't interview witnesses about what they saw, they never tested the seizure claim against observable facts. They took the driver's word for it without checking.
But an undiagnosed seizure is hard to prove either way, isn't it?
Absolutely. Which is exactly why you need to be rigorous. You interview everyone who saw her immediately after. Did she seem confused? Disoriented? Did she try to help? The behavior matters when the medical record is silent.
What does "unconscious bias" mean in this context?
The families are saying that because Freemantle was wealthy and white, officers may have been more inclined to accept her explanation without pushing back—to give her the benefit of the doubt in ways they might not have given to someone else.
Is there evidence of that, or is it an allegation?
It's an allegation being investigated. The evidence would be in what the officers actually did or didn't do—which witnesses they failed to interview, which questions they didn't ask, whether they treated her account as settled fact rather than a claim to be tested.
Why did it take so long for the Met to reopen the case?
An internal review in 2024 found the gaps. That review prompted them to look again. Sometimes institutional failures take time to surface, especially when the initial decision seemed to have legal cover.
What happens now?
The IOPC investigates the officers' conduct. The CPS decides whether to charge Freemantle. The families wait for both answers. And the question of whether the system treated them fairly—whether it treated her fairly—gets examined in public.