A drunk driver who killed a teenager in a horror car crash after she texted a friend "I may not survive tonight" has been jailed for eight years.
Kyle Patrick's passenger Erin Slane, 19, sent the message from his Ford Fiesta ST-3 turbo on September 1, 2024.
Patrick, 23, was hitting speeds of up to 119 miles per hour on a secluded Perthshire road at the time.
Patrick, of Scone, Perthshire, pleaded guilty to a charge of causing Miss Slane’s death and serious injury to her friend Keira Jones by driving dangerously whilst being impaired through consuming alcohol.
The charge also stated of how he drove at excessive speeds on the same evening.
Judge Lord Harrower today told Patrick at his sentencing: "I have assessed your culpability as the highest level of seriousness, having regard to the prolonged course of dangerous driving at a grossly excessive speed while impaired by alcohol.
"You demonstrated a complete disregard over a sustained period for the danger you caused to other particularly your two passengers while driving on a rural road.
"Erin was 19 and about to start university and had her whole life ahead of her.
"I am grateful to her mother, sister and step-father who provided moving accounts about the young woman she was, why she was special to them and the terrible devastation inflicted on the whole family. No sentence can alleviate their grief.
"Miss Jones described her dreadful injuries. She could not recognise herself in the mirror two days after the collision. She has gone through lengthy rehabilitation and continuing psychological trauma with the loss of her close friend.
"As a result of her injuries, she had to postpone her second year of her studies.
"There is no alternative to a significant custodial sentence."
Patrick was also disqualified from driving for 10 years after which he must sit an extended driving test before he is allowed back on the road.
The court previously heard that Patrick was speeding along the B9099 Luncarty to Stanley road when he lost control of the car and it left the road.
The vehicle then tumbled down a grass embankment into a field before it rolled several times before coming to rest on its roof.
Patrick survived and Miss Jones, also 19, also escaped from the wreck with injuries. However, Miss Slane lost her life.
Police then started investigating the background to what happened and discovered that Patrick had spent the night drinking with pals in Perth city centre. Investigators who took blood from the first offender at 4.30 am - two hours and twenty minutes after the incident - found he was more than three times the drink driving limit at that time.
They also uncovered that he had been offering people lifts home - he took £10 from a teenager for a journey they took from Perth to Bankfoot.
He then picked up Miss Slane and Miss Jones and took them on a car journey which Mr Jessop said was taken at “excessive speed.”
Prosecutor Graeme Jessop KC said: “During the journey, Erin Slane, the deceased, sent a couple of text messages to her friend group.
“At 0157 hours, she sent a message stating: ‘I may not survive tonight. I’m scared. Kyle is steaming.’
“At 0205 hours, she wrote: ‘Kyle is steaming.’
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“The fatal collision occurred about 0210 hours as the accused was driving his car towards Stanley on the B9099, Luncarty to Stanley Road, near to its junction with Gowrie Farm.
“The accused lost control of the vehicle whereby it crossed the opposing carriageway, left the road way, continued through wire fencing, down the grass embankment to a field, before rolling several times and coming to rest on its roof.
“The car was extensively damaged by impacts.
“At 0251 hours, the accused called Police Scotland stating he had been involved in a collision, he was the driver and had been drinking alcohol before so should not have been driving.
“He stated that he had pulled a passenger out of the car - the witness Keira Jones - and was so sorry for driving.
“Police, Fire Service and Ambulance crews attended a short time later.
“Upon their arrival, there was nothing they could do for Erin Slane who was clearly deceased still within the passenger seat of the car.”
Mr Jessop earlier told the court that on the evening of August 31, 2024, Patrick’s parents were away from their home for the evening and he had friends over for drinks and takeaway food.
Patrick then drove his pals into Perth at around 6.30pm and he and his pals visited various pubs.
Mr Jessop added: “The accused was seen to consume alcohol including buying and and consuming some pints of beer and lager and some shot drinks.
“About 2330 hours, the accused attended the Slante Bar on his own. He spoke to the bar attendant who observed him to be unsteady on his feet. He told her he was drunk.
“Just before midnight the accused left the pub and walked to his parked car.”
The court heard that there was a long queue of people at a taxi rank in Mill Street, Perth,. Patrick was seen pulling his car up at the front of the taxi queue, opened his passenger window and offered a lift to anybody who wanted one.
A 17-year-old boy accepted a ride to Bankfoot.
Describing this ride, Mr Jessop said: “During the journey, the accused stalled his car on two occasions and drove at speeds of up to 85 miles per hour on a section of the A9 road where the maximum speed limit was 50 mph.
“When they arrived at the boy’s home address, the boy gave the accused £10 for the lift. The accused then drove back from Bankfoot to Perth City Centre.”
The court heard that at at around 1.45am, the accused drove into South Street, Perth and parked directly outside a pub called ‘That Bar’.
Mr Jessop said that at that time, Miss Slane, Miss Jones and three other friend decided to leave That Bar. They all planned to stay overnight at a friend’s house in Scone.
However, the court heard that Miss Slane and Miss Jones decided to go back to Stanley to pick up alcohol and meet the other three friends at the house in Scone.
They got talking to Patrick who agreed to take them to Stanley and then take them back to Scone.
The fatal crash happened just a short time later.
Mr Jessop said that collision investigators and two members of Police Scotland’s Cybercrime Division removed the infotainment module from Patrick’s Ford Fiesta. They analysed the speed information recorded on the device for the final journey of the vehicle.
Mr Jessop said that analysis of this data revealed Patrick had hit speeds of up to 55 miles per hour in a 20 mile per hour zone in South Street Perth. The vehicle also travelled at 68 miles per hour in a nearby 30 miles per hour limit zone and 84 miles per hour in a 40 mph limit.
The advocate depute added: “After exiting the village of Luncarty the vehicle continued north towards the right hand bend.
“Following the bend the vehicle’s speed is seen to increase quickly and steadily up to to the highest recorded speed on the journey of 119 miles per hour a very short distance before the collision.”
The court heard that following the collision Miss Jones suffered a fractured arm, nine broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and a fractured finger - she has now made a full physical recovery.
Miss Slane was 19. Her death took place two days before her birthday - she suffered from blunt force heard injuries caused as a result of her being a front seat passenger in the collision.
The court heard that she was due to start studying at Napier University on September 14, 2024 and had an older sister and two stepbrothers.
The hearing was also told that collision investigators concluded that the collision was caused by a number of factors.
Mr Jessop added: “These factors being the grossly excessive speed at which the driver of this vehicle had been travelling at coupled with his general driving inexperience, both of which were compounded by him being under the influence of alcohol.”
Tony Lenehan KC, defending, told the sentencing: “He drove in the terrible manner described which caused the serious injury to Erin and the serious injury of Miss Jones.
"While sober, he felt the true weight of what he caused which has taken a toll on his own mental health.
"He knows he must pay the price for his decisions and knows the punishment will be nothing compared to what he did to the Slane family. His remorse is genuine."
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