Two passengers flung from a crashed vehicle near Dunedin yesterday are lucky to be alive, police say.
Emergency services were called to the Northern Motorway, Leith Valley, following reports a Nissan Skyline had crashed into a bank, just after 1pm.
It appeared the driver failed to slow down to a temporary 50kmh speed limit, and ''hit some metal at the open speed limit and lost control and crashed into a bank'', Sergeant Ed Baker said.
The two rear seat passengers were flung out the back window in the impact, and it was ''incredibly lucky'' all four occupants escaped with minor injuries.
Traffic was temporarily reduced to one lane to allow emergency services to attend to patients and clear the road of debris.
The vehicle was badly damaged in the crash, he said.
While it was too early to say whether the driver would be charged, inquiries into the crash were continuing, he said.
The crash served as a reminder for motorists to drive to the designated speed limits, because ''they are there for a reason''.
