Earlsfield school crash: Woman apologises for running over children in 4x4

A woman who drove a 4x4 vehicle into children and parents outside a primary school in south-west London has tearfully apologised to those injured.

A group outside Beatrix Potter Primary School, in Earlsfield, was hit by the 4×4 driven by 39-year-old Dolly Rincon-Aguilar in September 2020.

Kingston Crown Court heard she had pressed the accelerator not the brake.

The jury is considering its verdicts on eight counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, which she denies.

Jurors were told the green Rav4 vehicle had mounted the pavement, hit a tree and then a wall before accelerating to the school entrance where the group of parents and children were standing.

Eleven people, including seven children, were treated at the scene, with four adults and five children taken to hospital. Two children were later discharged.

Children as young as six were trapped under the vehicle, the court was told.

Jurors heard that two victims had fractures to the face and skull, with one requiring emergency treatment to remove a blood clot. Others were left with "serious" fractures to the leg, arm and eye socket.

Asked by defence barrister Ian Henderson QC how the incident had affected her, Ms Rincon-Aguilar, who had been picking up children from the school, said: "I think just my heart is broken in two. I just wish that I could take away all the pain and all the frustration."

She added: "I want to be able to tell them I'm so sorry because it is the only thing I want to say to them," before naming all those who were injured.

"A school should feel safe," she said. "It is just so upsetting."

The jury heard that Ms Rincon-Aguilar, who got her UK driving licence for an automatic vehicle in 2019, had not been drinking or taking drugs and had no health issues or problems at home.

Ms Rincon-Aguilar also confirmed there were no obstructions due to the weather, no distractions like the radio playing and her mobile phone was in her pocket while the vehicle had MOT, tax and insurance.

She said she "pressed the accelerator gently", and, "the next thing the car just went through the road and it was just so fast and just hit the tree".

In the aftermath of the crash, Ms Rincon-Aguilar spoke to the police without a solicitor. She told the court: "I decided to speak because I was just there and I was losing my mind," adding it was, "out of respect for the families".

Character witnesses described the defendant as a "cautious" and "conscientious" person, who acts with common sense and puts all children first, not just her own.

One said: "Dolly is just the most kind and most generous and most selfless person I have ever met."

Another friend said: "The best way I describe Dolly is that she is an extraordinarily caring individual. I have no reason to think that she is anything other than 100% honest."

Her father-in-law described her as "honest, forthright, rather shy" and "a lovely person".

Asked about the police's conclusion that there was "pedal misapplication", where she is likely to have pressed the accelerator rather than the brake, Ms Rincon-Aguilar said: "I think that is all right."

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