Friends have named the 21-year-old student as Aliyah, who reportedly was sat on a bench outside the college when she was hit yesterday (March 18) at 11.41am.
Two others were also injured in the crash, as one remains in a serious condition in hospital, but her conditions are not believed to be life-threatening.
A 23-year-old man who was taken to hospital has since been discharged.
A fourth person was treated at the scene and discharged.
An email from King’s College has been sent out to students confirming that the woman was a student with its Faculty of Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences, as reported by The Standard.
It reportedly stated that “a number of students and colleagues were directly impacted” by the incident.
It reportedly stated that “a number of students and colleagues were directly impacted” by the incident.
The email read: “We can confirm this was a tragic accident.
“Information this morning is that the student who sadly died was registered in NMES, as was another seriously injured student.
“We know a student from SSPP was injured but this is not life threatening. We wish them a speedy recovery.”
Flowers have been laid near the gates of St Mary le Strand church, near to where the van stopped.
The driver of the van, a 26-year-old man, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and drug-driving.
A dark blue van with a smashed headlight and a dent on the front right corner remained by the police cordon.
One witness, an 18-year-old student who didn’t wish to be named, said they could hear a loud crash while in class.
The engineering student said: “I just heard a really loud crash. Like a really loud crash and glass shattering.
“We were all scared in class, it was really loud. We looked out the window, and there was a huge (pile) of rubble I guess.
“My teacher called the ambulance.”
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.”
