A woman has died and two pedestrians have been injured, one seriously, after a van mounted the pavement on The Strand in central London. The incident occurred outside King’s College London at about 11:39am on Tuesday.
The Metropolitan Police said the woman, in her 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other pedestrians were taken to hospital, with one suffering potentially life-threatening injuries and the other sustaining minor injuries. A fourth person was treated at the scene and discharged.
A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and driving with a concentration of drugs above the legal limit. He remained in custody on Tuesday afternoon, according to police. The force confirmed that the incident is not being treated as terrorism-related.
Witnesses described seeing a police cordon around a dark grey Ford Transit van, with officers taking statements from bystanders. A PhD student at King’s College London, who gave his name only as Ali, said he initially thought the emergency response was related to a protest outside the university until he saw ambulance crews with stretchers.
London Ambulance Service said it sent multiple resources, including advanced paramedics, an incident response officer, a clinical team manager, and London’s air ambulance. Ali, 28, expressed his shock, saying: “We walk by that crossing all the time and it’s pedestrianised, barely any vehicles pass.”
