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A businessman involved in a near-fatal car crash with a prostitute he picked up is not expected to face charges because police cannot prove who was driving.
The man, 28, and the sex worker have both told police the other was behind the wheel when the car went off a road in Christchurch's Port Hills and plunged 40m into a gully.
Both spent days in hospital recovering from injuries after being trapped in the car for several hours last month.
The businessman, who handed over $40 when he picked the woman up, told the Herald the incident had been deeply embarrassing.
He had to come clean to his partner about picking up the prostitute, but she was sticking by him.
"The ones that know me know it's not my normal behaviour. It was one of those spur-of-the-moment things."
He claimed the sex worker had been driving at the time of the crash because she had asked to.
Sergeant John Pine, of the Lyttelton police, said that after an investigation, "tentatively, there won't be any [driving] charges".
Police had been unable to prove conclusively who was driving the car. Drink-driving was not a factor.
Mr Pine said there was also doubt about the public interest in charging anyone, when the car had been written off and lessons had been learned. However, police still had processes to work through before completing the investigation.
The businessman, who asked not to be identified, is still in pain as he recovers from broken ribs, fractured vertebrae and a chipped collarbone. He said it would cause him more embarrassment if he had to go to court, and he felt he had suffered enough.
"I'm already out financially because of the car. It's not fun having to take public transport."
His wallet, containing a large sum of cash, was never recovered.
The prostitute, who could not be contacted, suffered a neck injury.
