Eight pupils and parents were standing outside Beatrix Potter Primary School in Openview, Earlsfield, south-west London, when they were hit by the Toyota Rav4 shortly after 3pm on 8 September 2020. A seven-year-old boy with his back to the car was thrown into the air, while others as young as six were trapped under the vehicle. Dolly Rincon-Aguilar, of Wandsworth, south London, who was picking up children from school, pleaded not guilty to eight charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. But a jury at Kingston Crown Court took three hours and 26 minutes to find the 39-year-old guilty of careless driving and dismiss an alternative charge of eight counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The green vehicle mounted the pavement, hit a tree and then a wall before speeding into the school entrance where the group of parents and children were standing, a trial at Kingston Crown Court heard. Jurors said Rincon-Aguilar hit the 4×4’s accelerator instead of the brake as she tried to stop the car as it plowed forward. They heard the mother, who got her UK driving license for an automatic vehicle in 2019, had not been drinking or taking drugs and had no health problems or problems at home. She also confirmed there were no obstructions due to the weather, no distractions such as the radio playing and her mobile phone was in her pocket while the vehicle had an MOT, tax and insurance. An inquest heard how mother-of-two Dolly Rincon-Aguilar stepped on the accelerator of her 4×4 instead of the brake pedal before it plowed into a group of children outside Beatrix Potter Primary School in south-west London in September 2020 (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Eleven people, including seven children, were treated by medics at the scene in September 2020, with four adults and five children taken to hospital and two children discharged. Two victims suffered facial and skull fractures, with one requiring emergency treatment to remove a blood clot. Some of the children were left with “severe” fractures to their legs, arms and eye sockets. Rincon-Aguilar teared up during her testimony as she apologized to the victims and their families. Asked by defense barrister Ian Henderson QC how the incident had affected her, she said: “I think my heart is broken in two. “I wish I could take away all the pain and all the frustration.” Asked about the police’s conclusion that there was a “pedal misstep” – that it’s possible he stepped on the accelerator rather than the brake – she said: “I think that’s fine.” Rincon-Aguilar’s close friend Karen Duque described her as “just the kindest and most generous and selfless person I’ve ever met,” while her father-in-law, Neil Livingston, said she’s “honest, honest, rather shy.” atom. The court earlier heard from Metropolitan Police forensic collision investigator Pc Sean Wakeman, who said there was “unintended acceleration due to poor application of the accelerator pedal”. He said: “Had he applied sufficient pressure to the brake pedal, the Toyota would have stopped and this may have avoided any casualties.” The court heard the brakes were working “adequately” but Rincon-Aguilar may have accidentally stepped on the accelerator. Additional reporting from the Press Association
