Hit-and-run driver doing twice the speed limit sentenced in Glasgow
Ralph Fairhurst ploughed into 20-year-old Kyle Middlemas in Edinburgh in 2022; he later died from his injuries
A hit-and-run driver who didn't realise he had hit someone, has been jailed for four and a half years.
Ralph Fairhurst, 26, was going at more than twice the speed limit when he ploughed into Kyle Middlemas as he crossed the road in Easter Road, Edinburgh in the early hours of June 19 2022.
Kyle, 20, tragically passed away in hospital 10 days later after sustaining serious head and chest injuries.
It emerged university student Fairhurst had received a fixed penalty for speeding just seven months before this incident.
He was today sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.
Fairhurst had earlier pleaded guilty at a hearing in Edinburgh to causing Kyle's death by dangerous driving as well as failing to stop at the scene.
Kyle had been out that evening at a friend's 21 st birthday party before heading to a nightclub.
Prosecutor Chris McKenna said Fairhurst had been driving at excessive speed in his Vauxhall Astra before the collision.
He then stated: "His car struck Kyle Middlemass as he was crossing the road, resulting in a bang.
"The impact caused Kyle Middlemas to be thrown 10 to 20 metres into the air before he landed on the pavement.
"Fairhurst did not stop nor did he slow down. He did not activate his brakes before or after the collision."
CCTV of the incident was played in court today.
Witnesses rushed to Kyle's aid before he was rushed to hospital.
He was initially put in intensive care, but did not recover from his injuries.
The court heard much-loved Kyle had been working as a painter and decorator, but had ambitions to seek employment in outdoor sports.
He was trained in first aid, swimming coaching and as a lifeguard.
The lawyer for Fairhurst, of Thorntreeside, Edinburgh, said the student was "deeply sorry" for the "extreme grief" suffered by Kyle's family.
The court heard Fairhurst had that night been in the car with two others, who were helping direct him where they were going.
Mark Stewart KC, defending, went on: "He came into contact with something. He did not think for one moment that it was a person.
"It was not a matter that caused him to stop. It was only later when he exited the car that he thought it was something different.
"At no stage did he think it was an individual (he had hit) until he was confronted with the reality."
The court previously heard Fairhurst thought he had struck some sort of "street furniture".
Sentencing, Lord Young also banned Fairhurst from the road for nine years.
The judge stated: "48mph in 20mph area was a grossly excessive speed for a city street in the early hours of the weekend, where pedestrians like Kyle Middlemas were likely to be making their way home after a night out.
"It must have been clear to you that you must have hit something of significant size."
Lord Young said no sentence would compensate for the loss of Kyle who was "starting to embark on his adult life". He had been brought up by his grandparents from the age of four.
There was a shout of "rot in hell" by a woman in court towards Fairhurst as he was lead handcuffed to the cells.
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