The incident took place along State Highway 6 on Friday afternoon. Photo / Supplied
A woman has serious injuries in Dunedin Hospital today after she was struck in the face by a flying fuel cap while commuting.
The fuel cap flew off a vehicle on Luggate-Cromwell Rd (SH6) in Central Otago and went through the woman's windscreen before hitting her.
She was airlifted to hospital following the incident around 3.30pm on Friday, arriving in Dunedin a couple of hours later.
A St John spokeswoman told the Herald the fuel cap "smacked a woman in the mouth".
Police also confirmed the incident, adding she suffered "serious facial injuries".
As of midday on Saturday, the woman was still in a serious condition at Dunedin Hospital a duty-manager told the Herald.
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It is unclear whether the woman was the driver or a passenger of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, an Auckland woman experienced a close shave with a flying axe after it smashed through her windscreen near Dargaville in October.
The woman walked away with only bruises and cuts after the incident and both the driver of the vehicle and a child inside the car were uninjured.
The vehicle the woman was in was travelling towards Dargaville when another vehicle passed going the other way.
It was unclear if the axe had come from the passing vehicle of whether it had been on the road and bounced up and fired through the windscreen.
Elsewhere, a woman's vehicle was struck by a projectile of a high-powered firearm while driving along the Northwestern Motorway in Auckland on November 22.
Police did not believe the woman, who was shot in the face, was "specifically targeted" but wouldn't say where she was shot from.
The woman had been driving towards the city and passing under the Royal Rd overbridge around 9.40am when the projectile went through her windscreen.
The woman was taken to Auckland City Hospital with serious injuries but later became stable. Police said the injuries were not life-threatening.
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