Ex-college lecturer jailed for killing couple in Christmas drink-driving crash

A former college lecturer who caused the deaths of a husband and wife in a head-on crash while drink-driving following a Christmas party has been jailed for six years.

Sophie Hynd, 33, last month pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of Jatinder Kaur, 48, and her husband Satwant Singh, 64, in a collision on the B981 in Cluny, Fife, on 19 December 2025.

A boy was also seriously injured in the incident.

Hynd was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday. She was also disqualified from driving for 10 years.

Judge Michael O'Grady KC stated: "Calculations suggest you had been drinking on and off for perhaps nine hours.

"I accept it was never your intention to drive and you had made arrangements to be collected, but those arrangements fell through and on returning home, for inexplicable reasons you took the wholly irresponsible and fateful decision to drive elsewhere."

Describing the consequences, he said: "A man and wife, mother and father, hard-working, no doubt decent people going about their business doing the most ordinary of things, in an instant had their lives cruelly snatched away."

The judge previously heard how Hynd had been a lecturer at Fife College, but has since lost her job.

Advocate depute Lynsey Rodger previously told the court that the crash took place on the last day of the college term, with staff having joined a Christmas lunch before heading to pubs in Kirkcaldy.

Ms Rodger said Hynd, who lived in Kirkcaldy, had been drinking alcohol, including cider, spritz, Prosecco and possibly a Guinness shot.

The prosecutor said: "The accused was described as 'pretty merry' by one colleague and 'pretty drunk' by another."

She said Hynd decided to leave at around 10.30pm, and was seen to be unsteady on her feet. After arriving at home, she then decided to drive to her boyfriend's house.

At the same time, Ms Kaur was making deliveries in the family's Volkswagen Polo with her husband and others.

Other motorists called 999 after seeing the Nissan Qashqai driven by Hynd moving erratically and swerving into the opposing carriageway.

Ms Rodger said: "The accused's vehicle crashed head-on, which caused both vehicles to come to a stop."

Others who had seen Hynd's erratic driving stopped to try and help, with emergency crews later arriving at the scene.

The court was told Ms Kaur was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene at around 11pm.

Her husband was in a critical condition and was taken to hospital, where he was stabilised. However, medics later said his injuries were "not survivable", and he was pronounced dead on 21 December.

The prosecutor said at the scene of the crash, Hynd "smelled of alcohol and appeared not to know she had been in a collision".

When told she had been in a crash, she denied drinking and asked if everyone was alright and if she had hurt or killed anyone.

In addition to causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving, Hynd also admitted causing her car to drive into the path of an oncoming vehicle "whilst impaired by alcohol".

Defence lawyer Ewen Roy said his client is "consumed by feelings of guilt and remorse" and is experiencing a "level of mental anguish rarely seen in this court".

He added: "Sophie Hynd's decision to drive that night had consequences leading to a lifetime of loss and grief and that is a burden that she clearly struggles to bear.

"The recklessness of getting behind the wheel that night and complete absence of thought regarding the consequences seems entirely at odds with her previous character and behaviour and it will always remain utterly inexplicable to her and to her friends and family."

He added that the events of that night will "haunt her forever".

Judge O'Grady said he accepted Hynd's remorse was "genuine and profound".

He said: "No punishment can ever reflect the loss of a life or interminable grief."

In a statement released via law firm Digby Brown last month, the couple's three children said: "We could never have prepared for losing our parents in this way.

"Mum was always there for us, whether we needed her advice, reassurance or someone to talk to, she always made things better.

"She was incredibly funny, kind and loved by so many people, and always made time for anyone who needed her.

"Nothing was ever too much trouble for dad, he loved mum and us more than anything.

"He was our role model and taught us the importance of working hard and looking after the people we love.

"It's incredibly difficult to accept they won't be there to share the important milestones in our lives.

"We will miss them more than words can express, but we'll carry their love and everything they taught us for the rest of our lives."

(c) Sky News 2026: Ex-college lecturer jailed for killing couple in Christmas drink-driving crash