Suffering from a serious head injury, the then 23-year-old struggled to remember how old he was.
The thought of ever returning to university was simply "inconceivable".
Today, the 28-year-old, originally from Cape Town, but based in Dunedin, will graduate with a postgraduate diploma in accounting.
The injury, caused when his car hit black ice and skidded 70m before hitting a power pole in June 2012 in Dunedin, is behind him graduating.
"I don’t think I’d be the person I am today, and I definitely would not have returned to study if I hadn’t gone through the accident."
"I was in Isis (rehabilitation ward) and got set up with a speech therapist.
"I had difficulties being able to express what I was meaning and feeling and being able to respond to questions quickly."
As "pools of blood" in Mr Kleigl’s brain subsided he was left with the crippling pain caused by complications from a dislocated shoulder.
"At the time, when I was recovering, I thought there was no chance of being capable of higher thought at all."
During the first months of his recovery he relied on a series of systems to retain a sense of normalcy.
"I had little systems so I didn’t leave the stove on or the door open and things like that."
When he began to become bored at an Auckland casino job he realised "higher thought" might be possible after all.
Mr Kliegl applied for a job in Auckland and was told he did not have the right qualifications.
So he thought he would get them.Mr Kliegl had started his diploma last year.
Five years on from the crash he still suffered from the brain injury, but the side effects were "minor".
"Most of them only I notice.
"A little bit of background noise can be really distracting so I have to concentrate extra hard."
He hoped to work for a Dunedin accountancy firm while working towards becoming a chartered accountant.
He planned to celebrate his graduation and recovery triumph with his fiancee, mother and sister today.
