Man accused of causing best pal's death fights back tears as he recalls fatal crash

Joshua Butters said the steering on his Vauxhall Corsa locked before it collided head-on with two other vehicles in east Cleveland.

The 20-year-old's voice shook with emotion as he said he panicked and tried to brake, but the pedal would not go down.

He attempted to turn off the ignition to rectify the problems, but that did not work either, he said, in the moments before impact.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Mr Butters passed his driving test just over three months before the tragedy in February last year.

In an interview with police, he told how the steering locked on the hatchback as he went down a hill on the A174 Brotton bypass.

"I could see three cars on the right hand side," the electrician said. "I knew even if I did get the lock off, I was going to . . .

"I said to my partner 'it's not turning, it's not turning' and then she said something to me but I cannot remember what she said.

"I tried the key and starting the vehicle back up to see if the lock broke, and then I just can't remember what happened."

Talented footballer Jordon Dowson, 19, from Guisborough was in the back, and Mr Butters's girlfriend Ashley East was a front-seat passenger.

The jury heard how the car collided with a Volkswagen Scirocco then an Audi A4 before overturning and leaving the road.

In his police interview following Jordan's death, Mr Butters denied speeding, and said: "It was just normal driving."

He said he was more cautious about the way he drove when his partner was in the car, because she was hurt in a crash in 2011.

He told police what happened was "beyond my control" and added: "I would never put us in danger like that. I would never out us at risk like that.

"I wouldn't put myself in that risk, never mind the passengers. I know now that I should have put my handbrake up, but I just didn't think."

Mr Butters, of Atholl Grove, Redcar, denies a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.