A motorist saw his life flash in front of him as a Honda Civic ploughed into the driver's side of his Nissan Triton on Saturday.
The driver of the Civic had slammed on its brakes and attempted to take evasive action after a Hyundai Santa Fe pulled out of Henley-Berwick Rd, about 30km south of Dunedin, and on to State Highway 1 about 10.50am.
The 20-year-old driver of the Civic avoided injury and was taken to Dunedin Hospital as a precaution, and Jason Payne, the driver of the Triton, sustained only minor whiplash.
‘‘My life sort of flashed in front of me,'' Mr Payne, whose Triton was shunted 90 degrees and 3m down a bank, said.‘‘It was a bit scary.
‘‘This car pulled out on the main road in front of me and there was another car coming and he had nowhere to go so he slammed on the brakes and hit me.
‘‘It happened so quickly. I got smoked into the bank.‘‘If it was any other wee car [I was in], I would have been seriously dead.''
His 6-year-old fox terrier-Jack Russell cross, Wally, was a passenger in his car.‘‘He's all right though,'' Mr Payne said.
Constable Jono Chatfield said inquiries into the cause of the crash were ongoing and it was too early to attribute blame.
It appeared the driver of the Sante Fe had stopped just past the stop line at the intersection, believing they had left enough room for the Civic to pass, he said.
It was a lucky escape for all involved, Const Chatfield said.‘‘It might have been a different story if he had hit the driver's door - it just hit at the back.''
Before he left the scene, Mr Payne gave some advice to other motorists.‘‘Some people need to slow ... down on the road and chill out,'' he said.
‘‘What's the hurry?''
