Drink driver sentenced over death of friends in Fife crash

A drink driver who caused the deaths of two teenage friends as he drove them home from a party has been ordered to be detained for 42 months.

Logan Russell was 17 when his Vauxhall Corsa left the road and collided with a tree in Fife.

Ethan King, 17, died at the scene, and Connor Aird, also 17, died later in hospital. Daniel Stevens was seriously injured.

Russell, now 20, last month admitted to causing death by careless driving.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard Russell managed to get out of the vehicle and told witnesses who went to their aid: "Help my friends. Can you get them out the car? It's all my fault."

The judge told Russell that he should have known the risks of driving after consuming alcohol and with a limited amount of sleep.

Lord Boyd of Duncansby said that if Russell was going to drink he should not have taken the car and added: "What happened here should be a warning for others.

"The victims are not just those who have died, but those left to grieve."

He told Russell, who was also banned from driving for four years, that if he had been a mature adult offender he would have jailed him for up to seven years for the offence.

Russell, from Leslie in Fife, earlier admitted causing the deaths while over the drink drive limit.

He had previously faced a charge of causing the deaths by dangerous driving on the A915 Standing Stane road at Windygates, Fife, on 11 November 2018.

The court heard he had held a full driving licence for just 55 days when the fatal collision happened after he lost control of the car.

Advocate depute Leanne McQuillan said that on the evening of 10 November 2018, and into the early hours of the next day, Russell and his passengers had attended a party in the garden of a girl's home in Windygates.

The prosecutor said: "The accused was seen by various guests to be drinking alcohol throughout the course of the evening, as were the other guests."

She said that about 08:15 the girl's father got up and noticed four youths were still in the garden and told them it was time to leave.

The collision happened about 20 minutes later as Russell headed in the direction of Kirkcaldy. Two other vehicles were behind the Corsa.

The advocate depute said: "The witnesses described the car drifting gradually to the right, crossing the centre line into the opposing carriageway.

"No-one saw the brake lights illuminate. The vehicle then left the roadway, struck a wooden post and fence, entered a field and collided with a tree."

Witnesses saw smoke and stopped and the emergency services were alerted.

As the witnesses approached the vehicle they saw Russell walk around from the driver's side as he made a plea to help his friends.

He told police he was the driver and gave a positive breath test.

A blood sample from him was later analysed and found to contain 118 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit in Scotland is 50 milligrams of alcohol.

Mr King was found to have died after suffering significant head trauma while Mr Aird died on 16 November as a result of chest and head injuries.

Mr Stevens suffered fractured bones but made a full recovery, although suffers occasional pain in one of his legs. The court heard that he remembered nothing of the crash or the party.

Defence solicitor advocate Iain Paterson said his client made a "dreadful error of judgement".

He added: "There was a lapse in concentration, as he accepts, which led to this tragic accident.

"He does accept absolutely that he is going to be sent into custody today and he hopes that brings some solace to the families because he is deeply remorseful about what has happened.

"He will live with it for the rest of his life."