The driver of a Land Rover that crashed into a primary school in Wimbledon, killing two young children, has been released on bail pending further investigations.
Claire Freemantle, 48, was rearrested on Tuesday on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
She had previously been arrested for the same offence at the scene of the crash, which took place at the Study Prep school in south-west London on 6 July 2023, as pupils were celebrating the last day of the summer term.
Two schoolgirls, Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, both eight, were killed in the collision.
Last June, the Metropolitan police said Freemantle would face no criminal charges because she had had an epileptic seizure, which she had never had before, and was in good health before the crash.
In a statement to the PA news agency at the time, Freemantle expressed her “deepest sorrow” for the girls’ families who “suffered such dreadful loss and injury” in the incident, and said she had “no recollection of what took place” after losing consciousness.
On Tuesday, when Freemantle was rearrested, the Met said that after concerns were raised by the bereaved families, it had carried out its own review of the case and found lines of inquiry that “required further examination”.
Freemantle is due to report to a police station in late April, the Guardian understands.
Det Supt Lewis Basford, who is leading the new investigation, appealed for any witnesses or individuals with information who are yet to speak to police to come forward.
He said: “Were you attending the local golf course or driving in or around the area of the Study prep school in Wimbledon at the time of the collision? Did you see the vehicle – a distinctive gold Land Rover Defender – in the lead-up to the collision?
“We believe there were people in the local area who have not been spoken to by police and remain unidentified. I would ask those individuals to please contact us. Our main priority is to ensure the lines of inquiry identified by the review are progressed.
“This is a live investigation and in order to maintain its integrity I can’t go into further detail at this stage. I would urge people to avoid speculation.”
On Tuesday, the girls’ parents said in a statement: “We welcomed the reopening of the investigation in October 2024 by the Metropolitan police into the death of our beautiful girls and the harm caused to those injured and who witnessed the tragedy on that sunny July day.
“It is important that this investigation runs its course unhindered and that each step taken is done so in the pursuit of truth and the full facts. As the investigation continues, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
