A man was evacuated by helicopter from Cromwell after driving into a parked grit truck last night.
Fire, police, and ambulance services were called to the scene.
The driver was initially trapped in the car and, once extracted by emergency services, was flown to Dunedin Hospital.
A St John spokesman said the man had a ‘‘serious head injury''.
Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen said police had located a passenger who fled following the crash.