Emergency services following a trail of blood made a grisly discovery when they found two badly hurt men a kilometre from a crash on the outskirts of Dunedin.
Sergeant Matthew Lee said officers were called to a crash near the intersection of Taieri Mouth Rd and Otokia-Kuri Bush Rd about 12.50am today.
The incident was reported by a local resident who had heard a loud screech followed by the sound of a crash, Sgt Lee said.
When officers arrived at the scene they discovered an abandoned vehicle on its side blocking the road.
Following a trail of blood away from the vehicle, police and firefighters located two men on the roadside about 1km away from the crash site.