Dunedin police have declined to estimate at how fast a Subaru WRX was travelling when it hit the median barrier on State Highway 1 near Green Island and slid for more than 100m before crashing through a lamppost, a road sign and a large flax bush.
Acting Senior Sergeant Chris George, of Dunedin, said the vehicle scraped along the median barrier in the south-bound lane for 35m before slewing sideways down the motorway for another 70m and hitting the barrier again.
"It then knocked down a lamppost, a road sign and cleaned out a large flax bush. I don't even want to guess how fast it was going."
Surprisingly, the vehicle was still operational and was last seen travelling towards Green Island on Main South Rd about 11pm on Thursday.
The driver of the dark-coloured Subaru failed to contact the owners of property damaged at the scene.
Snr Sgt George encouraged the driver to contact Dunedin police about the incident, which could have been partly caused by a steer with large horns seen running loose on the motorway.
Several other motorists stopped at the time of the incident, and were also encouraged to contact police.
"We don't know if the driver or any passengers were injured . . . They are required to report damage within 48 hours, and if injuries were involved . . . contact police within 24 hours . . . [or] they can be fined up to $5000."
