Witness tells of horror after 'panicked and frozen' van driver ploughed into pedestrians, killing woman in her 20s

18 March 2025, 15:39 | Updated: 18 March 2025, 15:55

A witness has described his shock at seeing a van crash on the Strand in central London in which one pedestrian was killed and another was left fighting for life.

The local maintenance worker told LBC that the driver, who has since been arrested, appeared to be "panicked" and "frozen" as the horrifying scene unfolded.

The crash, which took place on a pedestrianised area near King's College London shortly before midday on Tuesday, left two others hurt. One of the two survivors had life-threatening injuries, with the other suffering minor injuries.

The maintenance worker said they heard a "big bang and a loud scream and lots of commotion."

They said that the van was coming out the service yard of the university and went through the security barrier and gate.

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It then clipped the edge of a bench where, according to the maintenance worker, two young women and and a young man were hit. The identities of the victims have not been publicly confirmed.

The van then crashed into the side of the church.

The driver "looked as if he’d frozen behind the wheel, [he] was panicking, [his] hands went on his head after it happened and he immediately made a call, presumably to police," the maintenance worker said.

They said that it looked as if the van's brakes had failed or the steering wheel had locked.

Another witness ran over and got a university security guard who came and immediately gave CPR to the woman.

The maintenance worker added: "We’re totally shaken, [we've] never seen anything like it.

"It’s scary, you could just be walking having a coffee or a cigarette and that happens."

The driver, a man aged 26, was arrested for causing death by careless driving and for driving with drugs above the specified limit.

Police also said the incident was not terror-related.

The Met said in a statement: "Police are on scene and dealing with a collision close to The Strand, WC2.

"Officers were called at 11:41hrs on Tuesday, 18 March following a collision involving a van and pedestrians.

"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 driver of the van, a 26-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion causing death by careless driving and driving with concentration of specified controlled drug above specified limit.

"He remains in custody. Enquiries are ongoing and a crime scene is in place.

"This collision is not being treated as terrorism-related."

Two fire engines and three ambulances were also present on the scene in the aftermath.

A large part of the area was cordoned off as emergency services dealt with the incident.

Traffic restrictions were also in place in the wider area.

Incident occurs on The Strand in London

A student at nearby King's College London told LBC: "No one knew what was going on. Lots of police tape, shouting and everyone sort of just stood there."

They added: "We saw people lying down with people with ambulances around them... Everyone's kind of shocked, I guess".

A PhD student said he was shocked by what had happened.

"I was just walking out of class... at first I was disoriented, I thought it was a protest because it usually happens, but it's something else entirely," Ali said.

"(Now knowing a woman has died) is so sad and hard to process - my thoughts go out to her family and friends.

"We walk by that crossing all the time and it's pedestrianised, barely any vehicles pass."

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called today (Tuesday) at 11.39am to reports of an incident in The Strand, WC2.

“We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, an incident response officer, a clinical team manager and London’s air ambulance.

“We treated four people at the scene. Sadly, despite our best efforts one person was pronounced dead. We took two other people to hospital and one was discharged at scene.”