Former lecturer sentenced to six years for drink-driving crash that killed a married couple

Sophie Hynd, a former lecturer at Fife College, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment and a ten-year driving disqualification after pleading guilty to drink-driving that caused a fatal head-on collision. The crash occurred late on the last day of the college term, when Hynd, described by colleagues as “pretty merry” and “pretty drunk”, left a Christmas lunch and drove while intoxicated, striking a family’s Volkswagen Polo on the opposite carriageway.

The impact killed the parents, Jatinder and Satwant, and left their ten-year-old son seriously injured; the father later died in hospital. Judge Michael O’Grady KC highlighted the irreversible loss and accepted Hynd’s “genuine and profound” remorse. Other motorists called emergency services after observing Hynd’s erratic driving. The surviving children released a statement through law firm Digby Brown, saying they will forever miss their parents.