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Teen Told Friends ‘I May Not Survive Tonight’ And Was Found Dead Moments Later
A teen was found dead after sending a series of chilling text messages to her friends, saying she feared she would not survive the journey she was on.
Just minutes later, she was killed just two days before her birthday.
Now, nearly two years on, heartbreaking details of the teenager’s final moments continue to haunt those who have followed the case.
A night that ended in tragedy
Erin Slane was just 19 years old when she accepted a lift home from 23-year-old Kyle Patrick during the early hours of September 1, 2024, per the Mirror.
According to prosecutors, per the BBC, Patrick had spent the evening drinking with friends in Perth city centre before driving to a taxi rank and offering lifts to people waiting there despite being heavily intoxicated.
Court proceedings heard he even accepted £10 from one teenager for a lift before later picking up Erin and another passenger, Keira Jones, outside a pub in Perth.
Rather than taking the pair home safely, Patrick accelerated to terrifying speeds on the B9099 between Luncarty and Stanley in Perthshire.
Data recovered after the crash showed his Ford Fiesta ST-3 reached speeds of up to 119mph on the rural road, despite his ability to drive being seriously impaired by alcohol, prosecutors told the High Court.
The journey ended when Patrick lost control of the vehicle, crossing onto the opposite side of the road before smashing through fencing, tumbling down an embankment into a field and rolling several times before coming to rest upside down.
Emergency services found Erin still trapped inside the wreckage. She had suffered catastrophic blunt force head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Keira Jones survived with injuries, while Patrick also escaped the crash.
Driver admitted he should never have been behind the wheel
The High Court heard Patrick contacted emergency services around 40 minutes after the collision.
According to prosecutors, he admitted during the call that he had been driving and acknowledged he had been drinking and ‘should not have been driving.’
He later pleaded guilty to causing Erin’s death and seriously injuring Keira Jones by dangerous driving while impaired by alcohol.
During sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Harrower described Patrick’s actions as far more serious than a momentary lapse in concentration.
The judge said his behaviour represented “a prolonged and deliberate course of driving at grossly excessive speeds while impaired through alcohol.”
He added that Erin had been “about to start university and had her whole life ahead of her,” telling Patrick that his actions had brought “terrible devastation” to her family.
Patrick was sentenced to eight years in prison and was also disqualified from driving.
His defence lawyer said Patrick fully accepted responsibility for what happened.
“He tells me if he could serve ten times the sentence and be able to undo everything that happened, he would,” advocate Tony Lenehan KC told the court, according to BBC News.
Erin was preparing for an exciting new chapter
The tragedy came just two days before Erin’s 20th birthday.
She had also been preparing to begin studying at Edinburgh Napier University later that month, with family and friends looking forward to watching her start the next stage of her life.
Instead, her loved ones were left grieving after a crash that prosecutors described as entirely avoidable.
The case has also become another stark reminder of the devastating consequences of drink-driving.
Road safety charities have repeatedly warned that alcohol dramatically slows reaction times, reduces coordination and increases the likelihood of fatal collisions, particularly when combined with excessive speed.
The heartbreaking texts she sent before the crash
As Patrick continued driving at terrifying speeds through the Perthshire countryside, Erin realised something was badly wrong.
Rather than staying silent, she reached for her phone and sent desperate messages to a group chat with her friends.
According to prosecutors, at 1:57 am she wrote: “I may not survive tonight. I’m scared. Kyle is steaming.”
Around eight minutes later she sent another message repeating: “Kyle is steaming.”
Only minutes after those texts were sent, Patrick lost control of the car.
For many following the case, Erin’s final messages have become the most heartbreaking part of an already devastating story, capturing the fear she experienced in her final moments and serving as a tragic warning about the deadly consequences of getting into a vehicle with an impaired driver.
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