Car crashes through fence, narrowly missing house in Rotorua with family of seven inside

Police are investigating whether a motorist forced another vehicle off the road and caused it to crash through fences and land on its roof less than 1m from a bedroom where people were sleeping.

They are also trying to establish if a gun was involved.

The developments come after Fairy Springs Rd resident Ethan Draper woke up to his wife “screaming” after the crash.

If the car rolled just one more time, he believes “it would have killed us”.

Police were called to the two-vehicle crash on Fairy Springs Rd in Rotorua on Wednesday about 10.54pm.

Four people were injured in the crash, one critically.

A police spokeswoman said police were “in the early stages of investigating this crash and working to determine what occurred, including whether a firearm was involved”.

Initial indications suggest one driver drove the other off the road, she said.

She said staff were working to identify those involved and locate the vehicles.

No arrests have been made.

She said police would not release CCTV footage of the crash because the investigation was ongoing.

Ethan Draper with his car which was hit during a crash on Fairy Springs road. Photo / Andrew Warner

Draper said the car came crashing through his neighbour’s fence, then his, before his car was also “taken out” .

The vehicle that crashed into his car then landed on its roof and stopped just short of his bedroom.

He was later told the car rolled eight times before coming to a stop near his window.

“I woke up to my wife screaming, and hurt people screaming.”

He believed those coming out of the car were teenagers “screaming in agony and pain.

“It’s not anything anyone would want to wake up to.”

The scene of the crash at a Fairy Springs Rd address on Wednesday night.

Draper described being furious in the initial moment as “family and neighbours could have been really hurt too”.

The front yard was “destroyed” and the clean-up had started this morning.

His own car was also written off in the crash.

He said his five children were “gutted” when they woke up this morning. Draper said they would need to walk and catch the bus to get around.

He wanted action taken following the crash.

“It’s hurt a lot of families, not just the people in the car.”

Emergency services staff work at the scene of the crash on Fairy Springs Rd on Wednesday night.

Fairy Springs Rd residents clean up after the crash. Photo / Andrew Warner

A Hato Hone St John spokesman said three ambulances and one manager were sent to the scene where crews assessed four patients and took all four to Rotorua Hospital.

A Rotorua Hospital spokeswoman said one patient remained in hospital in a serious condition, one had been transferred to Waikato Hospital and two others had been discharged.