A Palmerston North man killed in a head-on crash on the Desert Road last year was twice the legal limit and speeding, says a coroner's report.

Ahmad Jawid Aman, 29, was killed when the car he was driving crashed with an oncoming 4X4 on State Highway 1 on March 5, 2013.

A coroner has ruled that a Palmerston North man died from injuries sustained in a car accident on the Desert Road.

Coroner Carla na Nagara says a toxicology report showed Ahmad, an Afghanistan national, had a blood alcohol level of 217 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

The legal limit is for a New Zealand driver aged 20 years and over is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

Witnesses also recalled Ahmad was speeding and estimated to be travelling at 120km/h before the crash.

'Shortly before 10pm on March 5, 2013, Ahmad was traveling north on the Desert Road, approaching an ‘s' bend with a bridge on it which went over the Waikato Stream,” Coroner na Nagara says in her report released yesterday.

'He lost control of his vehicle on the bend, crossed the centreline and crash with an oncoming 4X4.”

Ahmad had left his home in Palmerston North because he needed to attend a court appearance in Auckland, he told a friend. His family in Auckland were not aware of his trip and knew nothing about his court appearance.

'Drivers who were also travelling along SH1 the same evening as the crash, observed a car, believed to be driven at speed and overtaking recklessly.” The driver of the 4X4, who was not badly injured, recalls seeing Ahmad's car coming down the hill very fast.

He says the other vehicle was in his lane and he estimates the car would have been doing about 130km/h

'I was doing the speed limit and as I saw the other car come speeding down the hill I braked a bit to slow down and pulled to the left hand side.

'I didn't hear any noise from his car tyres. The car just kept coming towards me and I pulled as far left as I could and was stopped by the barrier on the bridge.

'As I got as far left as I could, I was doing about 70km/h. As I could not go any further left, I saw the other car in my lane and was coming straight for me. I gripped my steering wheel and held on as I could see the other car was going to hit me.”

The serious crash unit investigated the crash and found neither vehicle had faults that would have contributed to the crash.

'It was concluded that Ahmad, driving with excess blood alcohol and having crossed the centre line into the path of an oncoming vehicle, was the prime cause of factor of the crash,” says Coroner na Nagara.

'I find that Ahmad died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. I extend my sympathy to his family and friends for their loss.”