A Kingston University student described by friends as “the most charming and lovely girl in the world”, was struck by a high powered BMW M3 as she was crossing the road to the library.
Hina Shamim was to celebrate her 22nd birthday next month and was finishing her dissertation for the sports science course she was set to graduate in this year.
The 21-year-old student is said to have been thrown to the ground before the car smashed head-on into a bus and span back onto the pavement, pinning her against a wall in the crash on Tuesday night.
Yesterday, friends paid tribute to her. Shabaz Shah, 20, a fellow student said: “She was the loveliest person you could ever meet. she loved life and was always in the gym or studying. She was the best person and we all loved her.”
Monty Sajdewa, 24, said: “She was the most charming person you could ever meet. she was beautiful in every way. she lit up a room and was so caring and funny. she always had a smile on her face.”
Hina, originally from Peterborough, was a top student and is thought to have been making the walk of just 50 metres from her flat to the university library.
Her friend Monty said: “She had texted her friend in the library to say she would be there in five minutes. I cannot describe how devastated we are.”
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Six people in the car, a man and five children including two boys aged four and a girl aged eight, were taken to hospital for injuries though none were said to be serious.
Police arrested the 34-year-old driver of the car on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
Emergency teams declared a “major incident” with at least 15 ambulances and police vehicles sent to Penrhyn Road outside Kingston University’s main campus at 9pm Tuesday night.
Paramedics battled to save the life of the student victim at the roadside but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Passers-by joined efforts to treat the other casualties before they were taken to hospital.
The five child passengers in the BMW M3, thought to be three young siblings and two older cousins, suffered broken bones and cuts after being showered with broken glass.
A four-year-old boy was treated for a gash to his head, an eight-year-old girl was treated for facial injuries and a 12 year-old treated for a suspected broken wrist.
The driver of the empty 418 route bus was treated for minor injuries at the scene. An off-duty colleague who was riding with him was taken to hospital with leg injuries.
Sports science student Adam Turner, 19, said the driver was coming down the road from the roundabout to the university.
He said : “The momentum of the crash swung the car around and it ended up near a wall. I think the girl was pinned against it.”
A witness tweeted: “I’ve never seen something so crazy, was like something out of a film.”
He told the London Evening Standard: “A friend of mine who saw it said it was a head-on collision.”
Thomas Robertson-Johnson, 27, a mechanical engineer, said: “I heard the crash. It was the most incredible noise. I came running around the corner and saw this young Asian father dragging three kids out.
“One of the children, a boy, seemed to have a broken wrist. He was holding it up and it was floppy. He was crying. The other smaller boy had a deep head wound and was bleeding heavily.
“The other child, a girl, had lacerations from the broken glass most probably. The father was in a panic and grabbed me.
“He said ‘She ran into the road and I had to turn to avoid her.’”
A retired teacher ran from her home after hearing the “huge bang”.
She said: “I saw the man carrying his four year-old son and I took him. He was bleeding from a gash on his head.
“The scene was chaos. The car was badly damaged, the windscreen was smashed. There were so many people standing around.”
The crash took place about 100 yards from the entrance to the university’s Penrhyn Road campus which houses the Student Union Headquarters, central university restaurant and health centre.
A Kingston University spokesman said: “Our thoughts go out to everyone involved in this tragic incident and their family and friends at this difficult time.”
Detective Sergeant John Hartfree, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said : “Penrhyn Road would have been busy at the time of the collision and I am appealing for anyone who saw this tragic event unfold to contact police.
“I am particularly keen to speak to the occupants of a dark coloured car which was seen following the white BMW M3 car immediately prior to the collision.”
Anyone with information should call 020 8543 5157 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
