A PORSCHE driver who killed his friend while high on drugs has been warned to expect up to eight years in jail.
Robert Andrew Beach, 36, was driving his Porsche 911 Carrera when he crashed in Hessle, killing his passenger and friend Marc Putnam.
A jury at Hull Crown Court took almost five hours to convict him of causing death by careless driving while unfit through drugs.
• Update: Beach jailed for six yearsIt is the second accident Beach, of Thoresby Street, west Hull, had in the same car after crashing into a house in Hull last year.
Judge Mark Bury warned Beach, who was remanded in custody, he is facing up to eight years in jail when he returns to court for sentencing today.
The judge told him: "You have been convicted by a jury of causing the death of Mark Putnam while unfit through the presence of Phenazepam. The sentence is one of inevitable custody of some length."
Beach had taken Class C drug Phenazepam, known as bonsai, which is more powerful than heroin substitute diazepam and is not available in the UK.
Its side-effects include drowsiness, lightheadedness, disorientation and confusion and it stays in the body for days after being taken.
Beach was driving along Priory Way when he lost control coming off a roundabout.
The Porsche ended up on the wrong side of the road, heading into the path of an oncoming Mercedes.
Mr Putnam, 30, of Hessle, was in the passenger seat and suffered the full force of the crash.
Beach was driving at speeds of up to 42mph on the 30mph stretch after negotiating the roundabout.
Judge Bury said: "I accept entirely the deceased was a friend of his and he has blamed himself to some extent, correctly, for the accident and that he does feel genuine remorse for it but there are significant aggravating features. The defendant has a poor record for driving in the same car."
Beach told the jury he took the Class C drug daily to help him sleep due to stress but claims the cause of the crash was due to speed and driver error.
He denied being under the influence of drugs.
His barrister John Thackray said: "He has glowing references and this accident has had a significant impact upon him."
Mr Putnam was pronounced dead at the scene.
Beach broke his back in four places, fractured all his ribs on the left of his body, ruptured his spleen and punctured his lung.
He was placed in an induced coma for eight days and spent three months in hospital.
Beach had already pleaded guilty to causing his friend's death by careless driving on January 26 last year.
The Porsche was travelling from the Hessle Road roundabout towards the A63 when it crashed into a black Mercedes, which then hit a Fiat Stilo.
The drivers of the Mercedes and the Fiat suffered minor injuries.
Mercedes driver Graham Aylott said: "I was travelling at about 20mph, not very fast. I saw the Porsche in the other lane, it had just come off the roundabout. It twitched at the back and I saw the driver turning the wheel and come straight at me.
"I knew this car was going to hit me and I thought I was going to die. I just knew he was going to hit me and there was no way he was going to miss me."
