Family of girl killed when Land Rover hit Wimbledon school tea party make desperate plea for answers

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The heartbroken household of an eight-year-old girl killed when a Land Rover ploughed into her school playground have mentioned they’ve little confidence within the police as they await answers seven months on from the tragedy.

Selena Lau was filmed taking part in Scott Joplin’s ragtime traditional The Entertainer on the piano at an end-of-term live performance at The Study preparatory school in Wimbledon, simply moments earlier than the tragic incident final summer time. Ending the piece to a spherical of applause, she and her grandmother Lai Lin Lau moved into the grounds for a tea party to have a good time the beginning of the summer time holidays.

As she was standing by her good friend Nuria Sajjad, additionally eight, a gold 4×4 crashed by the school gates and killed them each, whereas dozens of different kids and fogeys have been additionally injured.

Speaking to the Times, her mother and father Franky and Jessie Lau, each 45, have spoken of their desperation for answers because the investigation by the Metropolitan Police continues into its eighth month.

“It has been a long time,” Ms Lau mentioned. “We want to try to understand what happened. We lost our daughter. We expected her to be with us all our lives. This happened to her and to us. It was the end of my world. It has been seven months and we are still waiting.”

A 46-year-old lady from Wimbledon was arrested on the scene on suspicion of inflicting dying by harmful driving and has since been launched beneath investigation.

In an emotional interview with Vanessa Feltz on TalkTV, Mr Lau mentioned: “We still haven’t had any answers. There’s no update. We just don’t understand why it’s taking so long for an incident that everyone has seen.

“There’s only one suspect, one driver. It’s still ongoing, that’s all we know. It could be 10 years, 20 years, we don’t know. I like to think I have faith in the police, but at this point, we don’t have much confidence.

“We just want answers, we want justice for our daughter. We’re very close to the other family, that’s how they feel as well,” he continued.

“It’s no closure, no information or confirmation about whatever happened to our girls. We are frustrated. They’re suffering every day, like us.”

Selena’s mom had been at her desk within the City, the place she labored as a chartered accountant, when she obtained the decision telling her to urgently make her approach to the school.

Upon arriving, she and her husband have been instructed that Selena had died, with Ms Lau making her approach to St George’s Hospital in Tooting along with her daughter’s physique.

Her husband returned dwelling with Selena’s 12-year-old sister Isabella, for them to gather her favorite teddy bears and toys.

Since the incident, their older daughter has withdrawn from actions that she used to get pleasure from along with her youthful sister and sobs at night time.

“They were best buddies since the day Selena was born, doing piano, netball, dancing and singing classes together,” she mentioned. “Now she’s withdrawn from all those activities. That’s not fun any more.

“She’s been sobbing at night because they used to listen to songs together before going to sleep and chat. She’s been crying on her own.”

“We just want to have understanding, justice for what happened. We owe this answer to ourselves and to the girls. Because you can’t have two innocent children lose their lives and all the questions not answered.

Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland, who is in charge of policing southwest London, said: “Our thoughts remain with the families of Nuria and Selena who we know are greatly loved and missed.

“This was a tragic incident and we understand that the families want and need answers as to what happened. We are continuing to give them specialist support through our dedicated family liaison officers who are providing updates on the investigation where they can.

“We recognise that the time taken can cause further distress but it is only right and fair to all involved that we carry out a thorough and extensive investigation.”