A Lithuanian man killed in a car crash in Melksham on Christmas Day died as a result of the driver’s excessive speed, a coroner has ruled.

Factory worker Nerijus Partikas, 30, died after the car he was travelling in hit a wall outside the Cooper Tires factory on Bath Road at 3.30am, as he travelled back from a night out in Chippenham.

The driver, 27-year-old Iraqi Rebaz Hussain is believed to have fled the country.

An inquest in Salisbury today heard how Hussain had taken Mr Partikas and three other friends back to Melksham from a Chippenham nightclub, when he crashed only 35 yards from Mr Partikas’ Bath Road flat.

All involved suffered injuries, with one female passenger requiring several operations to restore her damaged hearing.

PC James Trafford, of Wiltshire Police’s serious collision investigation team told the inquest the car was going over twice the speed limit as it approached the corner.

He said: “The speed he was doing I can’t accurately ascertain, but it was in excess of 64mph.”

Assistant coroner Ian Singleton recorded the cause of death as a road traffic accident. He said: “The vehicle travelled sideways as the driver lost control, and was still travelling at 35mph when it hit the wall.

“After the car had hit the wall it then rebounded. The effect of these forces on the rear passengers, and in particular Mr Partikas, was to cause multiple injuries, including fractures ribs and a skull fracture.

“The factor which caused the collision was the excessive speed of the driver.”

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “We understand that the driver of the car has fled to Kurdistan and is likely to remain there.

“He is on the Police National Computer, and should he return to the UK at any time he will be arrested and the matter will be dealt with at a criminal court.”

Mr Partikas had no family in the UK and had been working at Melksham’s Avon Protection plant for just under a year.

PC Nicola Burt of Wiltshire Police’s family liaison team said: “He had travelled around the world teaching and working before coming to Melksham, where he was well liked, and very hard-working.

“His family in Lithuania were understandable distraught at hearing the news.”