A drunk driver who caused a fatal crash after a teenage passenger texted friends saying 'I may not survive tonight' has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Crash Details and Victim
Kyle Patrick, 23, was driving at 'grossly excessive speeds' when his car crashed into a field in Perthshire on 1 September 2024. The passenger, Erin Slane, 19, died at the scene. Another passenger, Keira Jones, suffered severe injuries.
During the journey, Slane sent a message to friends stating: 'I may not survive tonight. I’m scared. Kyle is steaming.'
Guilty Plea and Sentencing
Patrick had previously admitted causing death by dangerous driving and causing severe harm to a second passenger. He confessed to driving at excessive speeds multiple times on the route to Gowrie Farm in Perthshire before losing control. The car veered into the opposing lane, went over an embankment, smashed into a fence, and overturned repeatedly in a field.
At the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday, Lord Harrower sentenced Patrick to eight years. The judge described the incident as 'no mere lapse of judgment' and a 'prolonged and deliberate course of driving at grossly excessive speeds while impaired through alcohol.'
Judge's Remarks
Lord Harrower said: 'Erin was 19, about to start university and had her whole life ahead of her.' He added that Patrick's actions had brought 'terrible devastation' to the family and that 'no sentence of this court can alleviate their anguish.'
Patrick, of Scone, Perthshire, also admitted driving while impaired by alcohol and offering to take people to their home addresses from a taxi rank in Perth earlier that day.
