Met Police silent over Strand crash, says victim's mum

The family of a 20-year-old student who died in a crash on The Strand say they still have many unanswered questions about why and how it happened.

On 18 March, Aalia Mahomed, from Mitcham, south London, was struck by a van which drove through closed gates and hit the bench she was sitting on in a pedestrianised area outside King's College London (KCL).

Her mother, Samira Shafi, has told BBC London the silence from the Metropolitan Police about the investigation has felt "like a lifetime".

The van driver, a 26-year-old man, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and drug-driving offences.

Aalia was in her second year at KCL and was studying for a BSc in physics and philosophy.

"I haven't got answers to what happened that day," said Samira.

"It's been slow. I keep being told an investigation is being carried out and these things take time, which I appreciate.

"But the silence is quite difficult for us because for us these eight weeks have felt like a lifetime."

She said she understood the investigation was ongoing and hoped it would reach "the right outcome", although they were not privy to the investigation or any progress being made on it.

"It is hard because we just have the silence.

"And that's hard to get your head around - you try and be patient, but at the same time you want some sort of understanding on it all."

Recalling that day, Samira said she had arrived at the scene of the crash within 10 minutes.

"I got a call from Aalia's friend. There was just blue lights everywhere, it was cordoned off.

"It is a pedestrian zone and it's really hard to make sense of any of it because she wasn't doing anything dangerous - she was sat on a bench in a pedestrian area in some sunshine."

As the area was taped off, Samira was unable to hold her injured daughter.

"I was told to stay back quietly because several people had been hurt and so that's what I did.

"But later on based on the time that I got there, I worked out that I was there for nine minutes before Aalia's death was called.

"Maybe if she'd heard my voice she might have pulled through."

Samira said the past two months had been very hard for her and her family who were going from "being in denial and then reality hitting".

"Aalia wasn't just a daughter, she was my best friend and my rock," she added.

Trevor Sterling from Moore Barlow Solicitors is the family's solicitor.

He said: "No parent should ever have to bury their child and events where they do we have to have a process which is a speedy one.

"Last year I was in touch with the mayor Sir Sadiq Khan and he supported the notion that there should be an expedited process when dealing with these types of events.

"It's incredibly important that we can get to the answers without delay - delay is the enemy of justice."

She added that getting answers would also help her better understand the circumstances of her daughter's death.

"It won't ever bring us comfort but it will give us some sense of what happened that day," she said.

"Of course we would want answers straight away.

"I appreciate there's a process that needs to take place, but I would hope it's done as swiftly as possible to get us on some level of clarity."

Ch Supt Thomas Naughton of the Met's Roads and Transport Policing Command said: "Aalia's family continue to be supported by specialist officers, we regularly meet with them to discuss the progress of the investigation and to ensure they are receiving the support they need.

"Our investigation continues at pace and we are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service.

"A 26-year-old man remains under investigation on conditional police bail following his arrest at the scene."