Drink driver who killed young woman while speeding at 119mph jailed

A drink driver who lost control of his car and killed his teenage passenger after speeding at 119mph has been jailed for eight years.

Kyle Patrick, 23, pleaded guilty to charges of causing death and serious injury by driving dangerously after drinking alcohol on a night out in Perth city centre in September 2024.

Erin Slane, just two days away from her 20th birthday, died at the scene of the crash. Another passenger, referred to as Jane, escaped from the wreck with injuries.

The High Court in Edinburgh previously heard that minutes before dying, a "scared" Erin had messaged friends to tell them she "may not survive tonight" and "Kyle is steaming".

Patrick has also been banned from driving for 10 years.

During sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Harrower said Patrick demonstrated "complete disregard over a sustained period of time" after "prolonged and deliberate driving at excessive speed" and "excessive consumption of alcohol".

The judge said no sentence can alleviate the anguish of the victims and their families, telling Patrick he had inflicted "terrible devastation".

The court heard that Erin's family provided a moving victim impact statement, and that she was due to start Edinburgh Napier University just weeks after her death and had "her whole life ahead of her".

The surviving victim, referred to as Jane, said in a statement she could not recognise herself in the mirror two days after the accident and has continuing psychological trauma from the loss of her close friend.

Jane required a 10-day hospital stay and months of recovery after the crash, while Erin died at the scene after sustaining blunt-force head injuries.

Lord Harrower said if Patrick had pled not guilty and the case had gone to trial then the sentence would have been 12 years.

The judge said he accepted Patrick's "remorse was genuine" but there was "no appropriate alternative to a significant custodial sentence".

Prior to sentencing, his defence advocate said Patrick did not try to hide his guilt, had no previous convictions, and knows he made "dreadful decisions".

He added that Patrick was aware nothing he could say or do would undo the harm he did.

Patrick showed no emotion as he was led away. Family and friends of the victims were visibly emotional in court as the sentence was delivered.

In May, the High Court in Edinburgh heard that Patrick, of Scone in Perthshire, had spent the night drinking with friends in Perth city centre.

The court heard that he had visited "several pubs" and drank pints of beer and shots.

He then drove to a taxi rank and offered lifts to people waiting in the queue. He was 21 at the time of the crash.

Driving a Ford Fiesta ST-3 turbo, he was paid £10 by a 17-year-old boy for a lift to Bankfoot before driving to South Street and parking directly outside a pub called That Bar, where he picked up Slane and her friend at about 01:45.

Prosecutor Graeme Jessop KC told the court that Patrick was driving at "excessive speed" along the B9099 Luncarty to Stanley road when he lost control of the car.

During that journey, Erin had messaged a group of friends at 01:57.

The messages read: "I may not survive tonight. I'm scared. Kyle is steaming."

At 02:05 she wrote again: "Kyle is steaming".

The fatal collision occurred about five minutes later on the secluded Perthshire road near the junction with Gowrie Farm.

The prosecutor added: "The accused lost control of the vehicle whereby it crossed the opposing carriageway, left the roadway, continued through wire fencing, down the grass embankment to a field, before rolling several times and coming to rest on its roof."

The court heard that Patrick then called police about 40 minutes later, but when emergency services arrived "there was nothing they could do for Erin Slane who was clearly deceased still within the passenger seat of the car".

Patrick told the emergency services he had crashed, that he was the driver, and that he had been drinking alcohol "so should not have been driving".

"He stated that he had pulled a passenger out of the car - [Jane] - and was so sorry for driving," Jessop said.

Patrick's defence advocate Tony Lenehan KC told the court at the time that Patrick "knows the terrible harm he has done".

"He pleads guilty knowing that he deserves a substantial prison sentence," he said.

"He tells me if he could serve 10 times the sentence and be able to undo everything that happened, he would."