Damilola Taylor’s killer jailed again for four years after running over a police woman

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

Quaden Bayles' age debated on Twitter as people claim he's 18 and accuse him and his mum of scam, while some defend him

A young Australian boy named Quaden Bayles went viral when his mum shared a video showing him crying and threatening to commit suicide as a result of incessant bullying he's suffered over his dwarfism (read here).

Yarraka Bayles shared the video to raise awareness about bullying and its effect on children.

After her video went viral, Quaden, who his mum says is 9 years old, received an outpouring of love from all over the world. American actor Brad Williams, who was born with the same condition as Quaden, raised over 250,000 Dollars for Quaden. Also, Quaden was invited to lead an All-Star Rugby team onto the field for their next match.

As the support poured in for Quaden, some social users began claiming Quaden is actually 18 and not a 9-year-old schoolboy as his mother claims. They shared old photos from his Instagram account apparently showing Quaden holding up wads of cash and wearing expensive clothes. They also added that his now-deleted captions on Instagram allegedly stated his age was 18.

This led to confusion as some wondered if they have been scammed.

However, supporters of Quaden took to Twitter to trend the hashtag #HeIs9 and #IStandWithQuaden. Some shared photos and videos to prove Quaden is actually 9. Others pointed out that his mother never said they were suffering and in need of money but only said he was a victim of bullying, and as such couldn't have been trying to scam people of their money.

Following the scam allegations, Brad Williams who raised money for Quaden tweeted: "The love you have shown is unbelievable. Thank you! Money donated will not be wasted! We have a team of people making sure everything is completely legitimate. We thank you for your generosity and patience while we make sure all this is done the right way."

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