A woman in her 20s has died and at least three other pedestrians have been injured by a van which collided outside Bush House at the Strand Campus of King’s College London at around 11:40 this morning.
The Met Police said in a statement: “Three pedestrians suffered injuries, with a woman in her twenties sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
“Two pedestrians have been taken to hospital, one has potentially life-threatening injuries, and the other has minor injuries.” The other injured pedestrian was discharged at the scene.
Roar has been informed that one of the injured pedestrians is a KCL student who is currently receiving treatment at St Thomas’ Hospital.
Police have confirmed that the driver of the van, a 26-year-old man, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and driving with a concentration of a specified controlled drug above the legal limit.
The suspect remains in custody. The police have ruled out that the accident was terrorism-related.
Emergency services arrived on the scene between 11:55 and 12:00 and have since cordoned off the areas surrounding the scene.
“It was nuts. I saw a van going so fast and swerving out of the way of people then I heard a loud crash,” first-year student Miles told Roar. The student added, “It did not look intentional.”
Miles saw the medics performing CPR. “At one point they stopped and wrapped one of them in sheets,” said the student.
Another eyewitness reported hearing a loud crash from their classroom and seeing one of the injured, “just lying down, out, fully unconscious, he looked dead.”
The driver of the van was seen leaving the vehicle looking distressed.
The identities of the injured are as of yet unconfirmed.
Access to the King’s Building has been restricted by the police, as well as access to Bush House via the South and South-East entrances.
Roar understands that the Strand will likely be closed for the rest of the day.
Students can access the King’s Building via Somerset House and the Macadam entrance. Bush House can also be accessed via the North East Wing on Aldwych.
Roar reached out to KCL, who said they were aware of the incident and were liaising with emergency services.
All KCLSU events scheduled for today (18 March 2025) have been postponed.
Student support for anyone affected by the events of today can be accessed from room K0.31 where King’s staff are available to provide assistance.
Editor’s note: This article was last updated at 15:28.
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