KEY POINTS:
A Christchurch man is nursing possible broken ribs and back injuries after his car drove off Scarborough Hill into a tree this morning.
The man in his 40s was negotiating a "very steep driveway" in the seaside suburb of Sumner when his brakes apparently failed about 7.50am.
Constable Richard Scott, of Sumner police, said the car careered down the driveway and over a retaining wall, becoming wedged between the tree and a steel pole.
"The steel pole and the tree probably saved him because if he'd gone any further he would have dropped about four metres into a driveway below," Mr Scott told NZPA.
The crash happened on private property.
A St John spokesman said the man was taken by ambulance to Christchurch Hospital with moderate to serious injuries.
- NZPA
