"I said 'you've gotta get out, the car's smoking'.
The man climbed out of the passenger door as the driver's side door was crushed, she said.
"He's so lucky he didn't hit the tree."
"I feel actually quite thrilled he's okay.
Constable Andrew McDonald said the man injured his neck in the crash and had been taken to Tauranga Hospital for observation.
The incident followed a two vehicle crash in Tauriko on Wednesday night that resulted in a car on fire and a light truck left sitting at the top of a cliff.
The two vehicles crashed on State Highway 29 outside the Caltex service station at about 7.30pm, Senior Sergeant Mike Owen said.
The area of the State Highway was blocked off and traffic was told to turn around or wait as the possible diversion along Poripori Rd was flooded, Mr Owen said.
Initial indications suggested the blue car crossed the centre line and the two vehicles collided on their driver's sides, he said, before the car caught on fire.
"Basically everything is melted," he said.
The fire was extinguished by firefighters when they arrived on the scene.
The light truck was pushed off the road by the impact and was sitting only metres from a steep cliff above The Lakes.
The man driving the car and the two men in the light truck were lucky to escape with no major injuries, Mr Owen said.
The three men were not trapped in their vehicles, he said.
"Alcohol is not a factor and it doesn't appear excess speed is a factor.
"It was a reminder to drive to the weather conditions and pay particular attention to both the conditions and other vehicles on the road," Mr Owen said.
