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The driver of a ute that careered across a paddock before flipping 360 degrees and coming to rest on the edge of a swimming pool had received treatment for a head injury earlier that day.
The crash landing stunned two friends enjoying a Friday evening glass of wine
on the deck of a home in the Waikato town of Ngaruawahia.
The homeowner and her friend had been relaxing for about 40 minutes when the Toyota Hilux burst through four fences and thick shrubs before landing metres away.
"The unholiest noise erupted," said the woman, who did not want to be named.
"It was like gunfire. It was the fences popping. I've never heard anything like it, and I never want to hear anything like it again."
The drama began when 28-year-old local man, Daniel Duffull, blacked out at the wheel, leaving Old Taupiri Rd and ploughing through the paddock, fencing and trees, without applying the brakes.
"It was like something out of an action movie," the woman told the Herald on Sunday yesterday.
"We are so rural and such a distance from the road that even if you paid a stuntman a million dollars to attempt what he did, I doubt they would do it."
The truck hit the edge of the deck and flipped over 360 degrees before coming to rest on the opposite side of the deck, crushing the woman's 5-year-old son's blow-up slide.
"It landed with a lot of force," she said. "I cannot bear to think about it because my son was sat on it two days ago. This time last week we had 13 children playing in the pool."
Her husband pulled Duffull from the car while she checked on the kids and her friend alerted the police.
"The wheels were still spinning when he pulled him out. Apparently he had blacked out but came round after he crashed. We ensured he was okay, but with the amount of smoke coming from the thing, we were terrified it was going to explode."
Police are investigating the crash.
Constable Grahame Abbott from Huntly police said Duffull had received treatment for a head injury earlier in the day.
He sustained cuts and bruises but no serious injuries.
"There is a suspicion of alcohol, but we do not know at this stage. There was definitely no braking involved, there were no skid marks."
Residents on Old Taupiri Rd are collecting signatures for a petition get the speed limit reduced from 70km/h to 50km/h.
One, Heather Cardon, said two vehicles had crashed through her fence in the past three months.
Neighbour Barbara Landon, 60, said people cut the corner all the time.
"I'm surprised somebody hasn't been killed yet. It's a miracle there wasn't a death in this instance."