The mother of a girl who was tragically killed when a Land Rover crashed into a school party has shared her heartbreak at being unable to give her daughter one "last hug" as her own ribs had been broken.
Smera Chohan was one of several people injured in the horrific smash at The Study Prep girls school in Wimbledon, South West London, which killed two girls including her daughter Nuria Sajjad, 8. The 4x4 veered off the road and smashed into an end-of-term tea party at the school on July 6, with Nuria and her eight-year-old classmate Selena Lau dying while Ms Chohan suffered eight broken ribs, a broken shoulder and pelvis.
Ms Chohan painfully revealed her daughter's final moments and said Nuria had just shared her “hopes and dreams” for the school holiday, such as a visit to the Isle of Wight. The mum said the pair unknowingly captured their last picture together less than one minute before the huge vehicle crashed into the playground. In the photo, the mum and daughter could be seen smiling from ear to ear as they looked forward to spending time together in the holidays.
Tributes were placed outside the gates of The Study Prep school in Wimbledon, Merton (Amer Ghazzal/REX/Shutterstock)The mum needed three operations and her daughter sadly passed away in hospital three days after the incident. Ms Chohan says she was positioned in a wheelchair next to her daughter as her life support was turned off but she couldn't reach over to her due to her injuries.
She recalled: "I didn’t get to give her the last hug that I so badly miss now. If I could, I would go back. Because of my own broken body and hers, I couldn’t lift her up in my arms to say goodbye. It’s never going to make sense. It is never going to be OK. The mum told The Sunday Times : “If parents pass away, you call the children orphans. What do you call us? This is not the natural way.”
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Smera Chohan and Sajjad Butt pictured with their daughter Nuria Sajjad (BBC.co.uk)Ms Chohan spent 11 days recovering in St George’s Hospital in Tooting and wanted to rush home from treatment “before her [daughter’s] smell had left the house”. Ms Chohan and Nuria's dad, Sajjad Butt, said they have kept her bedroom in the same condition with her clothes kept out and Barbies lined up.
Police arrested a 46-year-old woman on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. She has since been released on bail until January. Nuria's parents are calling for the case to be made a "priority" and questioned why they are facing such a delay in the case.
Mr Butt previously told the BBC : “In a matter of seconds we went from what should have been the happiest days of our daughter’s life to absolute horror. We understand due process, we understand that this needs to be done properly. I think from our perspective the challenge is that dozens of people witnessed what happened.”
Sajjad Butt is calling for answers from the Met Police (BBC.co.uk)Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland commented on the investigation and 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.
“Specialist detectives are working tirelessly to establish the circumstances of that day, including analysing CCTV and examining the expert report from forensic collision investigators. 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."
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