A firefighter clears up at the scene after a car smashed into a parked vehicle then spun out into a garage on Panama Rd in Mt Wellington this evening. Photo / Visual Media Productions
A firefighter clears up at the scene after a car smashed into a parked vehicle then spun out into a garage on Panama Rd in Mt Wellington this evening. Photo / Visual Media Productions
A woman has been left fighting for her life after the car she was in slammed into a parked van in the Auckland suburb of Mt Wellington, spun out and then smashed into a garage.
Neighbours described hearing a huge bang when the crash happened on Panama Rd just before 5pm.
They didn't realise a second car was involved until they saw it crashed in somebody's garage.
The back end of the parked van, with a Cafe Risque logo, is badly crumpled and the street strewn with debris.
The car's front end is badly smashed up from its collision with the van, after which it appears to have ploughed backward through the garage's metal roller doors.
One neighbour, who is a nurse, ran down to the crash with her daughter.
They found the car's passenger - who looked to be in her 20s - and put her in the recovery position.
Panama Rd in Mt Wellington where a car has hit a parked vehicle, spun out and smashed into a garage, leaving the passenger with critical injuries. Photo / Kim Moodie
"She was bleeding, she wasn't responsive," the nurse said.
She had lacerations to her head and was bleeding around her midsection. She was rushed to hospital.
A police spokeswoman said a car had hit a parked vehicle, spun out and collided with a garage.
The car's passenger had suffered critical injuries.
Nobody on the property or in the parked van had been hurt, police said.
The fire service had also been sent to the scene.
Panama Rd is strewn with debris after a car smashed into a parked van. Photo / Kim Moodie
Police later told the Herald that the woman's condition had improved, but she had suffered moderate to serious injuries.
The driver suffered minor injuries from the smash.
Panama Rd has been closed between Carbine Rd and McLennan Rd and diversions are in place. The Serious Crash Unit has been notified.
Neighbours told the Herald it appeared the car's driver had left the scene, but the police spokeswoman said around 5.30pm that the driver was being assessed by St John Ambulance staff.
A police officer at the site told the Herald both the driver and the passenger had been taken to hospital. He would not confirm if the driver had initially fled the scene.
Police are interviewing neighbours and photographing the crash site. The cordon has been extended.
