Two injured after sports car flips in Rotorua

Two people in a sports car were seriously injured when it lost control and hit a bank on Tarawera Road, Rotorua. Photo / NZPA

Two people have been injured after the Cobra sports car they were travelling in lost control and flipped in Rotorua this afternoon.

The passenger had been taken to Waikato Hospital with serious chest injuries while the driver was in Rotorua Hospital with moderate injuries, Rotorua Senior Sergeant Dennis Murphy told NZPA.

They had been travelling along Tarawera Road about 3pm when the accident happened.

"It went round a sweeping bend at speed, lost control and flipped. The force of the crash ripped the petrol tank from the vehicle," Mr Murphy said.

The driver was thrown clear of the car but the passenger was trapped and had to be cut out, he added.

He said speed appeared to be the cause of the crash but could not say whether charges would be laid yet.

The serious crash unit is investigating.

- NZPA