This is the first footage of a Land Rover crashing into a school in Wimbledon this morning, injuring at least seven children and two adults.
A major incident has been declared after the horror collision, which took place on the last day of the deadline at The Study Prep school on Camp Road at a little before 10:00.
Photos from the scene show tables and chairs being crushed by the 4×4 as it crashed into the outer wall of the main hall, suggesting students were enjoying outdoor activities at the time of the crash.
The vehicle crashed into Wilberforce House, a separate building used to teach children from reception to 3rd grade, ranging from four to eight years old.
The driver is said to have been a woman who suffered a “medical incident” while behind the wheel.
The Metropolitan Police said the motorist has ‘stopped at the scene’ and no arrests have been made, but an investigation is underway to understand the ‘full circumstances’.
The driver is said to have been a woman who suffered a “medical incident” while behind the wheel
Photos show outdoor tables and chairs next to the crashed vehicle
Police and emergency services attend the scene of a school car crash on July 6, 2023 in Wimbledon
An air ambulance arrives near Camp Road in Wimbledon on Thursday morning after a serious collision at a school
A local resident told MailOnline he was told a woman had had a seizure before she crashed. It is believed the driver was leaving the nearby Royal Wimbledon Golf Club when the accident occurred.
Concerned parents rushed to the school and a couple were seen escorting their daughter, who was wearing a blue school uniform dress, to their car.
At least 20 ambulances were on the scene and the road to the school was closed by a police cordon.
The London Air Ambulance told the BBC that “a fair amount of resources” had been called to the area, including “response officers” and a “hazardous area response unit”. Police have confirmed that the incident is not terror-related.
The school is an all-girls institution costing £16,000 per year per student. The public has been asked to stay away from the crash site to allow full access to emergency services.
The air ambulance is “still trying to get victims out,” nearly two hours after the crash, local Riverside Radio reports, citing some of the injured believed to have been inside the building at the time of the collision.
A guest at a nearby hotel said she spoke to an eyewitness Evening Standard: ‘He said a car had just driven into the school and it didn’t look good. It’s so sad.’
BBC London reporter Helen Hoddinott, reporting on the scene, said: ‘There’s a cordon at the end of the road here. Looking back across the Common there are about 20 ambulances all lined up.
“But actually within the cordon itself there are only a few ambulances with flashing lights. There has been a huge emergency, but there is a sense of calm here.
“A few minutes ago, a little girl actually walked down that road, she was supported by both her parents. She had no shoes on, she just stood on her socks. And her father was also missing a shoe and also one of his socks. They emerged from the cordon and have since disappeared.
“It’s hard at this point to get a sense of what happened here this morning.”
Sky News’ Jacquie Beltrao, who is on the scene, said: ‘This is a very small road just off Wimbledon Common. It is very narrow and very quiet. I see about eight ambulances.
A police officer said he believes the incident was caused by an out-of-control car. The roads around the common are closed and many parents are standing around me.
“It is difficult to know exactly what happened, but we do know that there are victims and that they are being taken to hospital.”
Stephen Hammond, Conservative MP for Wimbledon, said he was “deeply concerned” and added: “A major incident has been reported and I know all emergency services are on the scene. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone at The Study.”
Police officers cordon off Camp Road in Wimbledon after a Land Rover collided with a school building on Thursday
Several ambulances can be seen on Camp Road in Wimbledon on Thursday morning
He previously told BBC Radio London: ‘Obviously it is extremely disturbing and extremely worrying. I just spoke to the local police, they are there, as well as the Air Force and Paramedics.
“There are a number of victims, it is not clear to me how many. I know the area well, of course. The area is really quite remote, but actually it’s a road where quite a few people drive back and forth to the golf clubs.’
Mr Hammond said the road is ‘quite tight’ meaning people ‘have to stop and let each other pass’.
He said it’s ‘right on the corner of the common’ next to Wimbledon Common Golf Club.
He explained, ‘It’s on what we would call the quadrangle, Camp Road is also part of the quadrangle with West View, North View. It is about a mile outside of Wimbledon Village.
‘The Study prep school consists of two parts. The section located on Camp Road is about daycare children, usually up to the age of eight or nine. Nursery, eight or nine. And also girls, young girls.
“Obviously very worrying to hear about this incident. It is quite remote from the center of Wimbledon. There is a very good pub on the corner.
Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond said the road is ‘quite tight’, meaning people ‘have to stop and let each other pass’.
A major emergency response is underway in Wimbledon after a Land Rover crashed into a primary school this morning, injuring “several people”. (scene depicted)
Dozens of officers and aid workers remain on scene near Wimbledon Common
The London Air Ambulance told the BBC that emergency services have sent “a fair amount of resources to the scene”, including “response officers” and a “hazardous area response unit”
A fire truck and an ambulance have been seen near the scene of a ‘serious collision’ in Wimbledon
‘Surprising. For a fairly tight road, because of the way it works at certain times of the day, it’s very busy, it gets pretty tight all the way through.”
Mr Hammond said he does not ‘want to speculate’ on how the accident happened as he ‘don’t know’.
He added: “But it’s quite a difficult road, because there are usually parking spaces, because it’s quite difficult to pass, normally you have to stop to let someone pass. So normally people don’t build up speed, it’s in a 20 mph zone anyway.
“If you had said a different road in Wimbledon I could quite easily understand that some people would be driving at the wrong speed, an illegal speed.
“But this is a road where it’s really, really hard to do that. Doesn’t happen often to my knowledge, partly because it’s a tight road, difficult to pass.’
The London Fire Brigade said: ‘We are currently supporting emergency services with an incident at a school in Wimbledon. We have two fire engines and two fire units on site.’
Just before 10 a.m., police, fire and tactical units were called to a “serious collision” at The Study Prep school on Camp Road.
The Study Prep school (pictured) is an all-girls institution costing £16,000 per year per student
London Fire Brigade said they had two fire trucks on site. Police said they were called at 9:54 a.m. to reports of a car colliding with a school building
The Metropolitan Police said: ‘Officers are responding to a serious collision at a primary school in Wimbledon.
“We received a call at 09:54 on Thursday, July 6, saying a car had collided with a building near the school in Camp Road.
Officers remain on scene, along with paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance. Several people are being treated on the spot.’
Police said it would share further updates “when we can.”
More to follow…