Waikato police hope sobering crash photo saves lives

Police say the occupants were lucky to walk away with little injuries after losing control of their new, high performance, car in Te Aroha. Photo / Police

Police have released a sobering image of a Waikato crash where a fence post smashed through the car's windscreen, brushing the driver's face.

Somehow the occupants managed to walk away with just a sprained ankle - and a mangled car - to show for it.

In a post on their Facebook page, Waikato police wrote how the driver and new owner had only bought the turbo, high performance car on Friday.

They had never owned or operated a vehicle that powerful before and had dubbed it "their dream car".

"As they left Te Aroha the gears were changed at high revs on a slightly wet road. The back wheels spun out and control was lost. As you can see the car went through a farm fence and over the cattle tunnel.

Here's a photo of an accident Constable John Keoghan went to yesterday in Te Aroha. The driver and owner had only...

Posted by Waikato Police on Wednesday, 19 September 2018

"The driver is EXTREMELY lucky considering the wooden fence brushed the drivers face. Only injury - a sprained ankle!"

Constable John Keoghan released the photo hoping it would make drivers think twice before taking to the road.

"John wants to share this story in the hope that it make someone think twice and potentially save someones life 'we can only try'," police wrote.