'It just happened so fast': Car comes within metres of truck after crossing centreline

A truck driver braced himself for the worst as a small silver car abruptly swerved across the centreline, coming within metres of the 34-tonne truck.

Graham Redington was transporting lighting gear to Queenstown for the Luma Festival when the car went into a water trench, and then swerved across the road.

"I was just bracing myself to hit them. No matter what I did, I would've hit them. I couldn't go anywhere," said Redington, who captured the May 27 ordeal on his truck's dashcam.

"They were travelling at speed. She just drifted into the ... trench that runs along the side of the road. Her first reaction, I would imagine, was she grabbed the wheel to get back on the road."

Redington, who has been driving for 40 years and is director of Pukekohe transport business Northchill Ltd, braked heavily, going from around 92km/h to 25km/h in 70m.

The car flipped and landed on its side, with the occupants seemingly uninjured following the ordeal. Photo / Supplied

"It just happened so fast."

The car flipped and landed on its side - but miraculously the two women inside the car didn't appear to be injured, Redington said.

"The first thing I said to them was go and buy a Lotto ticket.

"If [they] were half a metre closer, I would've T-boned them. I wouldn't have been able to do anything."