SENTENCING STATEMENTS

Upon sentencing, Lord Harrower made the following remarks:

"Kyle Patrick, you have pleaded guilty in terms of s76 procedure, to a single charge of dangerous driving and causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving, contrary to sections 1, 1A and 2 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. 

Background

On the evening of Saturday, 31 August 2024, you invited friends home for drinks and takeaway food.  At about 6:30 pm you drove into Perth city centre in your Ford Fiesta. You went to several pubs, drinking pints of beer and shots.  By about 11:30 pm, although unsteady on your feet and admitting to being drunk, you drove off in your car.  You offered lifts to strangers at a taxi rank and took a 17-year-old boy to Bankfoot, driving at speeds of up to 85 mph in a 50 mph zone.

In the early hours of the following morning, having returned to Perth city centre, you agreed to give two young women a lift to Stanley.  One of these women was Erin Slade.  She sat in the front passenger seat.  The other woman sat in the rear.  I shall call her Jane, though obviously that is not her real name.  Both wore seatbelts.  During the journey, you continued to drive at excessive speeds.  Erin sent texts to friends expressing fear for her safety and stating that you were drunk. At approximately 2:10 am, while travelling north on the B9099 near Gowrie Farm, you lost control of the vehicle.  It crossed the carriageway, left the road, went through fencing, down an embankment, and rolled several times before coming to rest on its roof.  Erin died at the scene from blunt force head injuries. Jane suffered multiple fractures and concussion, requiring a ten-day hospital stay and months of recovery. 

You called the police at 2:51 am, admitting that you were the driver and that you had been drinking.  Blood samples taken at 4:30 am and 9:30 am showed alcohol levels of 156 mg and 65 mg per 100 ml, both above the legal limit.  Assuming alcohol leaves the blood at a constant rate, that means your alcohol level at the time of the collision would have been about 200 mg per 100 ml, which is exceptionally high, being 4 times the legal limit.  Vehicle data revealed that you had been driving at grossly excessive speeds throughout the journey.  Shortly before the collision, in an area which had a 60 mph limit, you reached a speed of 119 mph. 

Discussion

I must assess the seriousness of your offending by reference to culpability and harm.  I do so having regard to the relevant guidelines of the Scottish Sentencing Council, which include both the guideline on causing death by dangerous driving and the guideline on sentencing young people.

I have assessed your culpability as falling within the highest level of seriousness, level A.  I do so having regard to your prolonged and deliberate course of driving at grossly excessive speeds, while your capacity to drive was impaired through the excessive consumption of alcohol.  You were 21 at the time, and I have taken account of your relative youth.  But this was no mere lapse of judgment that might readily be put down to immaturity.  Rather, you demonstrated a complete disregard over a sustained period of time for the danger you caused to others, in particular, to the two passengers in your car, and while driving on a secondary road in a rural location. 

So far as harm is concerned, Erin was 19 years old, about to start University, and had her whole life ahead of her.  I am grateful to her mother, sister and step-father for providing me with moving accounts of the young woman that Erin was, why she was special to them, and of the terrible devastation you have inflicted on their whole family.  No sentence of this court can alleviate their anguish.

I am grateful also to Jane for providing me with a statement in which she describes in detail the devastating impact that her injuries have had upon her.  She describes being unable even to recognise herself in the mirror two days after the collision.  She describes her painful and lengthy rehabilitation, her continuing psychological trauma, and the loss of her close friend.  As a result of her injuries, she was required to postpone the second year of her studies.

Disposal

Kyle Patrick, please stand.  You are now 23 years’ old.  You have no previous convictions.  I have taken account of everything said on your behalf by Mr Lenehan, and the terms of the social work report, in which you are assessed as having a low risk of re-offending.  You have no explanation for your behaviour leading up to the crash, being unable to recall what happened between leaving the last pub and phoning the police.  However, I accept that your remorse is genuine.  I also accept that you co-operated with the police, though I would rather describe that as the absence of an aggravating factor, rather than mitigation.  Rehabilitation must be a primary consideration in someone your age.  However, retribution and deterrence are also primary considerations, and there is no appropriate alternative to a significant custodial sentence.  Taking everything into account, the sentence that I should have imposed, had the case proceeded to trial, would have been a sentence of imprisonment of 12 years.  Taking into account the timing of your plea, that sentence will be reduced to 8 years, backdated to 8 May 2026 when you were remanded in custody. 

In addition, you are disqualified from driving for a period of 6 years, reduced from 9 to reflect your early plea.  This period requires to be extended by 4 years, being half the period of imprisonment.  You will therefore be disqualified from driving for a total period of 10 years and until the extended driving test is passed."

8 July 2026