Hastings driver ploughs car into phone box, fence and tree

The car remained embedded in the badly damaged fence and power box, cordoned off by police tape on Saturday morning, attracting plenty of onlookers. Photo / Chris Hyde

A driver who took out a tree, a fence and badly damaged a phone box in a crash on the corner of Grays Rd and Fitzroy Ave is lucky no one was injured, long-time residents say.

A loud bang and the sound of metal crunching awoke several residents about 3.15am yesterday morning - they knew instantly it was another crash down the street plagued by boy racers.

Residents in the house where the car crashed, who did not wish to be named, said the "bang" drew several residents out onto the street.

"There was a hell of a kerfuffle."

The occupant said the road was "crazy", regularly driven by boy racers - particularly on weekends.

"Everyone has had a gutsful," he said, adding that he hoped to see stricter punishments enforced for driving offences.

Neighbours said crashes were regular down Grays Rd which was frequented by boy racers. Photo / Chris Hyde

He said the driver was "good about it" and waited at least an hour for police before heading home around the corner.

Police eventually arrived at 5.25am and found a shoe at the scene, before finding the driver at his home, uninjured.

Longtime neighbours down the road, some who had been there for 30 to 40 years, said crashes were a regular occurrence.

There was a fatal on the same corner several years ago, one resident recalled.

A neighbour told Hawke's Bay Today he heard the car speeding, hitting the brakes and then the bang as it crashed.

"That's not the first fence that's been taken down," he said.

He said a roundabout that had replaced stop signs at the intersection had improved things, but it was still an issue.

Speed humps and more policing might help, he said.

As of Sunday afternoon, charges had not been laid, a police spokesperson confirmed.