Napier fence crash: Firefighters cut car apart to rescue man

One of the vehicles involved in the crash in Napier on Thursday afternoon. Photo / Paul Taylor

A man extracted from a crashed vehicle because of fears of a serious injury in Napier on Thursday was later treated and discharged from hospital.

The crash happened about 4.40pm at the intersection of Te Awa Ave and Ellison St and police said soon afterwards a person had been reported to have serious injuries.

But Hawke's District Health Board said today that while a man had been taken to hospital he was not admitted. The man was aged in his 40s.

Police said the crash involved two vehicles, one of which struck a fence on a residential property. The road was blocked off for several hours after the incident.

A Fire and Emergency NZ crew had to cut the roof from one vehicle to extract the man because of the possibility of serious injury.

No further information was available from emergency services but a crash repairs source said there were times when vehicles not appearing to be badly damaged had to be cut apart in the rescue process, leading to vehicles becoming insurance write-offs.

If the vehicles were repaired it had to be manufacturers specifications, with conditions around the "A and B pillars" — at the windscreen and between the front and rear seats — meaning often the vehicles could not be economically repaired.