The taxi driver who crashed his cab and killed his elderly passenger is facing jail after a Supreme Court jury found him guilty yesterday of causing death by driving while impaired.

Noel Kenneth Bascome, of Friswell's Road, Pembroke, will be sentenced on Monday by Assistant Justice Philip Storr and could serve a maximum of 15 years after the nine to two verdict, with one juror undecided, was reached.

However a two or three-year term is thought more likely.

Passenger Aileen Sybil Belboda, 71, suffered massive head injuries during the smash on Middle Road, Warwick, on December 28, 1998. The mother of six died a week later.

Bascome was cleared by a majority verdict of causing death by dangerous driving but was also found guilty of failing to provide a breath test by unanimous verdict yesterday.

Widower Roland Belboda, who survived the accident, told The Royal Gazette he was pleased with the jury's decision.

He said: "I'm very happy with these guilty verdicts of causing death by impaired driving and not taking a test. There was nothing else they could do.

"I thank the Crown for the help of their lawyer.'' And Mr. Belboda expressed surprise that Bascome had denied the charges in face of the overwhelming evidence.

He said: "I thought he would have pleaded guilty. His lawyer must have told him not to.'' He described his wife -- who sustained fatal injuries just half a mile from the couple's home in Khyber Pass, Warwick -- as a good wife, mother and grandmother.

"She was one of those people everybody liked,'' he said.

His son Franklin said: "We wish peace and love to Noel's family. There is no animosity or anything like that.'' The court had heard Bascome had gone on a nine-hour bar crawl with friend Colin Smith on the night he ploughed his speeding cab into a roadside boulder -- but the defendant claimed he had only one drink.

Police officers attending the scene said Bascome reeked of alcohol and was almost incoherent.

Arresting officer P.c. Shanelle Smith said Bascome was unsteady on his feet and needed help getting in and out of the Police car.

Minutes after arriving at Hamilton Police Station Bascome pulled out his penis while P.c. Smith was present, staggered a few yards and urinated in a bin while leaning against a wall for support.

P.c. Smith told the court: "It's not normal for someone to do that, especially a gentleman in front of a Police officer.'' Bascome, 44, was asked by Police three times to provide a breath sample but refused because he wanted a lawyer present.

He told the court he was worried whether the one drink he had consumed would put him over the limit.

Bascome, who denied all three charges, blamed the crash on the victim.

He said: "I heard a noise from the back. It sounded like `Driver!' It sounded like bawling. I glanced in the mirror and I saw her coming forward.

"The car just bumped. By the time I looked back it was all over.'' Taxi driver found guilty But Mr. Belboda testified that Bascome was unsteady in his steering and the car was swaying from side to side.

The cab's tyres were bald and the wheels out of line, a Police witness revealed, which made the cab difficult to steer.

Witness David Madeiros, who had ridden in Bascome's taxi just before he picked up the Belboda's, also told of his concerns about the cab.

He said: "I realised there was either something wrong with the taxi or Mr.

Bascome because the car was jumping up and down.'' "I asked if he was all right.'' Defence lawyer Richard Hector put Bascome's dazed state down to head injuries sustained in the accident.

But Crown counsel Sandra Bacchus said: "He (Bascome) tries to blame everybody else rather than take the responsibility himself.

"Ask yourself this: if you caught a taxi, is it reasonable to expect a sober taxi driver, driving a taxi in reasonable working order to safely take you to your destination? "Something was wrong with both the taxi and the driver.''