Ute crashes off road into Whangārei park

A tow team removes a ute from Laurie Hall Park after it crashed off Bank St. Photo / Tania Whyte

Speed was thought to be a factor in a crash in which a ute crashed off the road and landed upside down in a central city park in Whangārei.

Police discovered the Holden Rodeo ute about 1am on Sunday morning but there was no one in the vehicle and there had been no reports of a crash happening.

Staff said it appeared the ute had been travelling down Bank St, failed to negotiate the roundabout, crashed down a bank into the park and landed on it's roof.

Both the drivers door and the rear door were open.

The damaged vehicle was towed away about 1pm on Monday and police investigations were continuing to try and find the driver.

It is not the first vehicle to end up off the road and in the park.

On July 30 last year people going to work captured a wild ride by a car on video.

No-one was hurt in the making of the action scene, even possibly the driver of the car who allegedly ran from the scene, but police said pedestrians and at least one car travelling along Bank St were extremely lucky not to have been hit.

In that crash a silver hatchback car was extensively damaged, a fence broken and branches torn from a number of trees on the park's steep garden adjacent to Bank St.