Driver who killed best pal Jordan Dowson facing jail

Joshua Butters, 20, was said to have been showing off his new vehicle when the accident happened on the A174 Brotton bypass last year.

The accident in east Cleveland left Butters's girlfriend - a front seat passenger - seriously hurt, and Jordan Dowson, 19, dead.

The promising footballer was a back seat passenger in the Vauxhall Corsa when the pile-up happened in February last year.

Butters claimed his steering locked and his brakes would not work just before the collision, but a jury rejected his account.

After a three-day trial at Teesside Crown Court, the panel of seven womens and five men just took an hour to convict him.

Apprentice electrician Butters, of Atholl Grove, Redcar, was found guilty of causing Jordan's death by dangerous driving.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, granted Butters bail until he returns to be sentenced at the same court on September 4.

Butters claimed during his evidence that he could not avoid colliding head-on with a Volkswagen Scirocco and an Audi A4.

In court, he denied claims that he was showing off to his partner, Ashley East, and Jordan during the Friday tea-time journey.

He told prosecutor Christine Egerton that he would never put his passengers at risk despite his limited experience.

The prosecution case was that Butters overtook a car on the downhill section of the road, and smashed into the other vehicles.

He said his steering locked and he could not negotiate the left-hand bend, and could not avoid the collision.

Butters's hatchback veered out into the opposite lane, crossing double white lines, and collided with the two cars.

He tearfully told the jury that he was powerless to prevent the crash, but has continued driving since the horror.

The court heard how the black Corsa spun in the collision, flipped over and landed on its roof off the road.

The prosecution said Butters was making a “dangerous overtaking manoeuvre", but he denied the suggestion.