Ricky Preddie, one of the killers of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor has been jailed for four years after driving into a female police officer.
Damilola, 10, was on his way home from a south London library on 27 November 2000 when he was stabbed with a broken beer bottle. He had only been in Britain for three months when he was killed after moving with his family from Nigeria.
Ricky Preddie was 13 and his brother Danny, 12, when they killed the young boy and left him to die alone in a concrete stairwell in Peckham. The pair were sentenced to eight years for Damilola’s manslaughter in 2006.
Ricky Preddie, 32, also known as Ricky Johnson, has been jailed again 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.
In a statement, Scotland Yard said he was sentenced to four years imprisonment and banned from driving for 12 years, which will start when he is released from jail.
Preddie was driving an Alfa Romeo in Wembley, north London, when police tried to stop his car on the afternoon of November 6 last year. He stopped the car but reversed before crashing into a police vehicle, causing injuries to a female police officer who was getting out.
According to Metro UK, Preddie drove away from the scene but his car was found nearby shortly after, leading to his arrest 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.’
