New research welcomed by families

The parents of one of the two children who died in the Wimbledon training crash said they hope a new inquest will end the “hell” they are going through and believe the victims “deserve answers”.

Franky Lau and Jessie Deng’s daughter Selena was one of two children who died and twelve were injured when a Land Rover drove into the playground the Study Prep School last summer.

The Metropolitan Police announced on Thursday that the investigation had reopened following an internal review that identified several lines of inquiry.

Following the initial investigation, the driver, Claire Freemantle, was notified No further action would be taken because she had suffered an epileptic seizure.

The families of the two deceased girls criticized the initial police investigation and the lack of traffic accident investigators.

Speaking to the BBC on Thursday, Mr Lau said the decision to drop the initial investigation had “upset” his family.

“We were confused about how they made their decision because some of the things they told us just didn’t match what we thought had happened and what other witnesses had seen,” he said.

Mr Lau added that the families of those affected were concerned that key witnesses were not interviewed during the original investigation.

“We thought (the police) must have looked at certain pieces of evidence, obtained certain documents and questioned certain people, and I think they themselves told us that wasn’t the case and that’s why they reopened (the investigation). “,” he said.

Mr Lau added that his family would be “quite happy” to accept the original conclusion “if we were told that the investigation was thorough”, adding “that is obviously not the case”.

“All we have ever wanted is a thorough and open investigation for Selena, Nuria and the other families whose lives were turned upside down on a summer afternoon, whatever the outcome.”

“This new investigation is welcome and I sincerely hope that this ongoing nightmare can soon come to an end for all families and Selena’s schoolmates.”

Both of Selena’s parents say they have been having recurring nightmares since the accident.

Ms. Deng said she dreamed about picking up her daughter from school.

In the dream, she said she says to Selena, “Let’s go home,” to which her daughter responds, “I can’t go home anymore, Mom.”

Ms. Deng continued that reopening the investigation would be akin to going back to the day of the crash.

“After 15 months we waited for the answer but we got nothing and now we have to start all over again. We are reliving this pain again,” she said.

After the initial investigation was completed, the driver of the car, Ms Freemantle, publicly expressed her “deepest sadness” and said she had “no recollection of what happened”.

Study Preparatory School’s current headteacher, Sharon Maher, and former headteacher Helen Lowe, who ran the school at the time of the crash, also said: They felt let down by the Met Police’s initial investigation.

They previously said they were “angry, sad and confused” by the decision not to prosecute.

Four months later, senior Met officials say the case is being reopened.

Police said: “The review has identified a number of lines of inquiry that require further consideration and therefore the investigation will now reopen.”

“The families have been informed of this development and we will continue to meet with them to keep up to date with the progress of the investigation,” police said.

It added: “We know this has been and continues to be a really difficult time for them.”

“We believe this further investigative work will answer all questions raised by the affected families.”

“This further investigation is being carried out by an accredited senior investigating officer and a team with experience in murder investigations.”