Edinburgh student jailed for four and a half years after fatal hit-and-run on Easter Road

A student has been jailed for four and a half years following a fatal hit-and-run in Leith.

Ralph Fairhust, 26, collided with and killed Kyle Middlemass, 20, early on June 19 2022 while driving at 48mph in a 20mph residential zone.

The High Court heard that Kyle was thrown 10 to 20m (33-66ft) into the air, suffering fatal head and chest injuries, BBC reports. 

Fairhurst was sentenced on Thursday (November 7th) and jailed for four years and six months after previously admitting to causing death by dangerous driving and failure to stop. He was also banned from driving for nine years.

Fairhurst had previously been penalised for speeding, receiving three points on his license, with the Judge Lord Young saying: “You received a penalty charge notice for speeding seven months before. That failed to stop you”.

He says Fairhurst was driving at a “grossly excessive speed for a city centre street in the early hours of the weekend when revellers like Kyle would be making their way home from a night out”.

In September, the court heard that Kyle had attended a friend’s 21st birthday party before going to a nightclub on the night of the collision.

The judge said: “You were accelerating and did not apply the brakes. Your position is you did not see him and did not know you had hit a person.

“You failed to stop, but it must have been clear you hit something.”.

Mark Stewart KC, Fairhurst’s defense council said neither Fairhurst, nor two passengers travelling with him were aware that the car had struck a person.

He said: “On reflection he came into contact with something, he thought it was the road surface or an object.

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“He didn’t consider for any moment to be a person, it was not a matter that caused him to stop.

“When he saw the damage he realised this event was a more serious event.

“He did not think it was an individual until he was confronted with reality and spoke to the police.”.

However, Stewart added: “That is not an excuse or an attempt to minimise responsibility.”.

Kyle Middlemass was raised by his grandparents since he was four-years-old, and hoped to work in outdoor sports. A grieving relative could be heard shouting “rot in hell” as Fairhurst was led to the cells. Following the crash, Middlemass succumbed to his severe injuries and died in hospital 10 days later.

Featured image via Google Maps and Police Scotland