Boy killed in police chase was on brink of stardom
Ten-year-old actor had audition for major TV role just days ago
A CHILD actor killed with his aunt when a stolen car chased by police ploughed into them was on the brink of stardom, it emerged yesterday.
Makayah McDermott, ten, had just auditioned for a leading role in a major new television series which would have catapulted him to fame, his agent said.
But just days after the talented schoolboy’s big break, he and his aunt Rozanne Cooper, 34, were killed when a car thief in a high-speed police pursuit mowed them down as they were walking to the park.
Makayah’s twin sisters, Yahla and Niyah, 13, and their cousin Eva Cochrane, eight, who is Miss Cooper’s daughter, were recovering from multiple injuries in hospital yesterday after they were also hit by the vehicle minutes after police gave chase on Wednesday.
Yesterday family and friends paid tribute as it was revealed that all four youngsters were talented actors and models who had starred in TV commercials and magazine shoots and appeared on book covers.
Miss Cooper, 34, was on her way to Alexandra Recreation Ground in Penge, south-east London, with her daughter, nieces and nephew, who she regularly looked after, when a Ford Focus careered out of control, mounting the pavement and smashing into the family just 500 yards from their home.
Last night detectives were still quizzing a 23-year-old man on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after he was found hiding nearby, having ditched the 14-yearold car he is suspected of stealing, which was worth just £500.
Yesterday Makayah’s distraught mother Danielle Cooper, 37, was by the bedside of her daughters and her niece Eva, who was heard screaming, ‘I can’t feel my legs’ after the accident.
Shortly after the crash, Miss Cooper, who works as an immigra- tion officer, was seen running through the police tape, shouting: ‘That’s my baby.’
Her partner Omar McDermott, 37, a market stall retailer, was yesterday seen taking cuddly toys and clothes to the three girls.
Paul Cooper told of his shock at losing his cousin Rozanne, saying: ‘She was such a wonderful girl and a wonderful family, always loving and always smiling.
‘They were such a close family and would often go away together – they had just got back from going away to a festival.’
Yesterday the agent who signed Makayah, his sisters and cousin, said she was ‘blown away’ by the family’s talent. Sam Brown, managing director of Brown and Mills Entertainment said: ‘Makayah was a real star. He auditioned last week for a TV series and he was really excited about it – he was saying, “get me more castings”.
‘This would have been his first major role. It was a leading role in a new TV series – his family were very excited. This could have been his big break. Who knows where it would have taken him if he got the part. He had so much star potential. He was a really talented young boy, a rare natural actor.’
Makayah had previously starred as the wizard in a production of The Wizard of Oz, with his sisters acting as the Witch and the Lion in the play at the Pop School and Stage Academy in Beckenham, where all three siblings attended part-time.
His sisters had previously appeared in a series of commercials for Asda, Babybel cheese, a cereal brand and graced several magazine and book covers. Eva auditioned in July for a supermarket commercial.
Miss Brown added: ‘They are a very talented family, all four of them. When I went to scout them I was blown away.’
Claudette Maragh, headteacher at Alexandra Junior School, where Makayah was said to be the ‘life and soul of the classroom’, said: ‘Makayah was a fun, bubbly boy and a really popular member of our school community. His loss is deeply felt by us all.’
The Independent Police Complaints Commission watchdog is investigating the crash.