Lucky escape as floodwaters wash car away in Selwyn near Christchurch

A man had a lucky escape after his car was swept down the Selwyn River/Waikirikiri last Monday. Photo / Christchurch Star

By Georgia O'Connor Harding

Images show just how lucky a man was to escape his car during the recent floods near Christchurch.

The photos released to Selwyn Times last week show a car swamped with water in the Selwyn River.

Senior Constable Andy Grant said the car was swept about 50m downstream opposite the Whitecliffs township.

He said a man, new to the area, tried to drive across the Glendore Stream, off Riversleigh Rd, Whitecliffs, during August 14 torrential downpours.

Police were called about three hours later, when a farmer noticed the car and was concerned someone may have been trapped.

Senior Constable Grant said the driver managed to walk away from the car before it was washed downstream.

He said drivers should stay out of rivers and fords in heavy downpours.

"If you approach a ford in heavy rain: stop, go slowly, get out and do an assessment of how much water is in the ford before you drive through it," he said.

The Whitecliffs farmer has since pulled the car out of the Selwyn River with his tractor.

Grant said if people's vehicle is washed down a river and they are safe, they should contact police to make them aware no one is in danger.

It is not the only close-call to surface since the floods.

Senior Constable Grant said the driver managed to walk away from the car before it was washed downstream. Photo / Christchurch Star

During the July floods two men in a four-wheel-drive were swept about 100m downstream in a wild torrent of water from a ford off Greendale Rd in Darfield.

The two men managed to get onto the roof of the vehicle and scramble up a pine tree before police, ambulance and fire services arrived, about midnight on July 23.

Grant said one of the men managed to get ashore by swimming through the river and grabbing onto the shrubs and bushes. The other stayed up the pine tree and was rescued by police.

One of the drivers used his cellphone to call a friend who alerted emergency services.

The car was severely damaged.

"They are lucky to be alive," Grant said.