A driver who caused a fatal crash after peeling the pink sticker from his unwarranted vehicle is yet to apologise to his victims and their families. 

Impaired by a blanket of thick fog, Jonathon Yorke was leading a convoy of vehicles last year on June 30 when he fatally dashed through a four-way intersection in rural Manawatū at 117kmh.

Yorke, who ignored two give way signs, collided with a Subaru at the intersection of Rongotea, Leen and Cole roads, about 18 kilometres north-west of Palmerston North, shortly after 1.30am.

The impact split his Holden in two pieces, killing one man and badly injuring three others.

The public gallery at the Palmerston North District Court was packed on Friday to see Yorke, 24, held accountable for the crash that killed his rear seat passenger, Allan Peter Hill, 24, who was thrown from the vehicle after not wearing a seatbelt. 

Yorke, who volunteers for Canteen, avoided a jail term. Judge Lance Rowe instead opted to impose 12 months' home detention and ordered him to pay $10,000 to the victims on charges of dangerous driving causing death and injury. York was disqualified from driving for two years.

Yorke had $4000 of outstanding traffic infringements and his vehicle was unwarranted at the time of the crash, the court heard. It had worn brake pads and bald tyres.

Although he hadn't intended to hurt or kill anyone, his refusal to get his car roadworthy constituted a "cavalier" attitude to road safety, the judge said.  

Yorke had violated the contract all drivers entered when getting behind the wheel – to keep each other safe. 

"The tragedy is, yet again, another young man has died because this fundamental obligation has been ignored," the judge said.  

In a statement read to the court, Hill's mother, Katherine Donald, said she still couldn't sleep at night and required counselling. 

Her son would have turned 25 in January, but instead of reading his colourful Facebooks posts, she must now talk to his gravestone. 

"His death left a void in my life that can never be filled," she said. 

"I still cry when I think about the accident." 

Yorke's then-girlfriend Taylor Clarke recalls hanging upside down after the crash, confused about what happened and in crippling pain. 

She suffered tears to her spleen and kidney, and a split aorta, which is the main artery carrying blood from the heart to the body. She, and the other victims, also suffered several fractures to their ankle, vertebrae, arm and jaw, respectively. 

Clarke said she hadn't received an apology from Yorke, but her injuries were a permanent reminder of the fateful night.  

She has had several surgeries and will require heart surgery again in the future. 

The metal plates and screws inserted into her also mean she has given up on ever running or jogging again. 

"Quite often I feel angry, sad, annoyed and depressed. I almost lost my life," she said. 

"I am always in pain. I will be on prescription medication for the rest of my life."