A provisional trial date has been set for a driver of a 4×4 accused of killing two girls when she crashed into a Wimbledon primary school.
Claire Freemantle, 49, faces two charges of causing death by dangerous driving and seven counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving following the incident at The Study Prep school in Wimbledon in July 2023.
Ms Freemantle, of Edge Hill, Wimbledon, appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday and spoke to confirm her identity. She was not asked to enter any pleas.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC set a provisional trial date of September 6 2027.
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She is accused of killing Nuria and Selena, as well as causing serious injury to Nuria’s mother Smera Chohan and another mother, Tamsyn Van De Vyver.
A third mother and her seven-month-old baby were also injured, as were two eight-year-old girls and a seven-year-old girl.
After the charges were announced, her lawyers said she would plead not guilty to the charges.
Ms Freemantle was released on unconditional bail until a further hearing on November 23.
Criminal proceedings against Ms Freemantle were initially dropped after an investigation in June 2024.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that she had suffered an undiagnosed epileptic seizure and would face no criminal charges.
However, concerns were raised by the girls’ families, who were unconvinced the probe had been carried out thoroughly, and the Met reopened its enquiries into the crash in October 2024.
The force also apologised for the way it initially dealt with the incident and the “impact on those affected”, adding it would be “fundamentally resetting how the Met investigates fatal and serious collisions”.
In August, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched a probe into the handling of the initial inquiry, with eleven officers now being investigated.
