Damilola Taylor killer jailed again for driving into police officer
21 February 2020, 17:45
A killer of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor is back behind bars after he drove into a female police officer.
Ricky Preddie killed the schoolboy when aged 13, alongside his 12-year-old brother Danny in 2000, a crime that horrified the nation.
They were each jailed for eight years for manslaughter in 2006,.
Now Preddie, 32, also known as Ricky Johnson, has been jailed for four years after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving; driving whilst disqualified; failing to stop; and driving without insurance at Harrow Crown Court on Thursday.
Scotland Yard said he will also be banned from driving for 12 years when he is released from jail.
He was driving an Alfa Romeo in Wembley, north London, when police tried to stop his car on the afternoon of November 6 last year.
Preddie stopped the car but reversed along the pavement before crashing into a police vehicle, causing leg and neck injuries to a Pc who was getting out.
He made his escape but the car was found nearby shortly after and he was arrested on November 12.
Detective Superintendent Ray Keating said: "In escaping from officers who had pulled him over, Johnson's driving was extremely reckless and resulted in an officer being seriously injured.
"He then drove off from the scene, callously leaving the officer needing urgent medical attention.
"The officer has since returned to full duties, and I would like to commend her courage and strength since the incident.
"While she has recovered physically, the incident has taken an emotional and psychological toll.
"Sadly, officers are injured whilst protecting the public far too often."
Damilola had moved to Britain from Nigeria a few months before he was jabbed in the thigh with a broken beer bottle by a gang of youths as he walked home from a local library after school.
The youngster was found bleeding to death in a stairwell near his home in Peckham, south London, where local workmen tried to save him.
