Wimbledon school collision: Girl, 8, killed and ten taken to hospital as Land Rover collides with primary school building

The car collided into a primary school building in Wimbledon, with the Met Police confirming one child died and ten were taken to hospital from the incident

An eight-year-old girl has been killed and ten people were taken to hospital after a Land Rover crashed into a girls’ prep school building on the last day of term.

Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland fought back tears as she announced the age of the victim during a press conference outside the school in Wimbledon, south London, on Thursday.

Chief Paramedic Dr John Martin, from the London Ambulance Service, said a total of 16 people were treated at The Study Preparatory School in Camp Road following the incident. The Metropolitan Police said a woman in her 40s has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and remains in police custody.

Police and emergency services attend the scene of a car crash at The Study Preparatory School in Wimbledon. Picture: Getty Images

Ms Kelland’s voice broke as she told reporters at the scene: “Very sadly one of the children, an eight-year-old girl, died at the scene. Our thoughts are with her family at this incredibly difficult time.”

Dr Martin also gave an update at the press conference, saying: “At 9.54am, we received a 999 call to a collision on Camp Road in Wimbledon. We dispatched multiple resources, including specialist critical care paramedics, London’s air ambulance and 15 ambulances.

“We declared a major incident. We treated 16 patients on scene. Sadly, as we’ve heard, one eight-year-old girl died.”

The force said the incident was not being treated as terror-related. The chairman of the board of governors, John Tucker, said the community was “profoundly affected” by the tragedy.

He declined to comment further as he stood beside the school’s headteacher Helen Lowe, who was holding hands with headteacher-elect Sharon Maher.

Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond, whose daughter previously attended the school, confirmed the eight-year-old girl died on the last day of term.

Speaking at the scene, Mr Hammond said: “It was very clear, very quickly, that it was a major incident and the local police declared it just that.

“I think you will have seen by the sheer scale of the response from the paramedics, air ambulance, fire brigade and the police what an important and serious incident this is.

“And what a sad incident – it is tragically on the last day of term, for this young girl to have lost her life. This is a well-liked, well-respected, well-known school.

“Most of the children who go here will be Wimbledon families, and this will cause shock across the whole of the local community.”

Police extended a large cordon around the school. Television pictures from overhead showed the car up against the wall of the building, while firefighters and paramedics stood near a gap in the fencing at the entrance to the site.

Officers moved dog walkers and passers-by away from the scene as an air ambulance remained on the edge of the Common while a number of ambulances parked nearby.

Wimbledon resident Julie Atwood said: “My daughter used to go to this school. It’s a girls’ school. Wimbledon is like a little village. For this to happen in Wimbledon is unheard of. It’s terrible.”

Tweets from Wimbledon and Putney Commons urged the public to stay away from the area.

The school, which costs £5,565 a term, is for girls aged four to 11 and sits on Wimbledon Common, just a mile away from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as it hosts the world-famous tennis tournament.