An elderly Dunedin woman’s car had to be craned out after a series of vehicle malfunctions sent it hurtling through a fence and into properties in Opoho yesterday.
Sergeant Matt Lee, of Dunedin, said police were called to the intersection of Evans and Windsor Sts at 2.45pm after a vehicle smashed through a fence and went careening down a bank.
The 76-year-old woman told officers she had started her SUV and her vehicle immediately started to roll down the hill.
She tried to hit the brakes but they were unresponsive.
When she turned the steering wheel, it locked and the car smashed through the fence and careened down the bank, causing damage to a garage.
There were no reported injuries and a crane was needed to remove the vehicle, Sgt Lee said.
A witness at the scene who declined to be named said he saw the vehicle ‘‘hurtle down the hill’’ at speed.
‘‘It was lucky to sideswipe the tree and bang into the carport garage.
‘‘If it hadn't done that, it would have gone straight through the gap,’’ he said.
The witness said the crash would have ‘‘taken the suspension out’’ while the car flipped over on its side.
‘‘The tree and the garage saved the driver — they were lucky there was no traffic going either way.’’
