FacebookA man who killed a terrified teenager in a crash after speeding up to 119 mph while three times over the drink drive limit has been jailed.
Erin Slane texted friends saying “I may not survive tonight” moments before dying in the collision caused by Kyle Patrick.
Erin, 19, sent the message whilst sitting as a passenger in the 23-year-old’s Ford Fiesta ST-3 turbo on September 1, 2024.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Erin had sent the message as Patrick was hitting speeds of up to 119 miles per hour on a secluded rural road in Perthshire.
“I may not survive tonight. I’m scared. Kyle is steaming”.
Erin Slane’s text to friends moments before fatal crash
Patrick was speeding along the B9099 Luncarty to Stanley road when he lost control of the car and it left the road.
The vehicle tumbled down a grass embankment into a field before it rolled several times before coming to rest on its roof.
Patrick survived and Erin’s 19-year-old friend escaped from the wreck with injuries. But Erin, who was the front seat passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The court previously heard that she messaged friends during the journey saying “I may not survive tonight. I’m scared. Kyle is steaming”.
Patrick pled guilty to a charge of causing her death by dangerous driving, and causing serious injury to the other passenger.
Lord Harrower sentenced him to eight years behind bars when he appeared for sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday.
Patrick was also banned from driving for ten years.
Offering lifts
Patrick had spent the night drinking with pals in Perth city centre.
Investigators who took his blood at 4.30am – two hours and twenty minutes after the incident – found he was more than three times the drink driving limit.
He had been offering people lifts home – taking £10 from a teenager for a journey from Perth to Bankfoot.
He then picked up Erin and her friend and drove at “excessive speed”.
During the journey, Erin sent a couple of text messages to her friend group.
At 1.57am she sent a message stating: “I may not survive tonight. I’m scared. Kyle is steaming.”
At 2.05am hours, she wrote: “Kyle is steaming.”
The crash happened at around 2.10am near the junction with Gowrie Farm.
Patrick lost control of the car, it crossed the opposing carriageway, left the road, continued through wire fencing, down the grass embankment to a field, before rolling several times and coming to rest on its roof.
The Ford Fiesta was extensively damaged by impacts.
At 2.51am, Patrick called 999 and said he had been in a crash, he was the driver and had been drinking alcohol so should not have been driving.
He told the call handler that he had pulled Erin’s friend out of the car.
Police, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and ambulance crews attended a short time later.
The court heard that upon arrival, there was nothing the emergency crews could do for Erin who was already dead.
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