Helicopter Otago chief executive officer Graeme Gale said it might have been "absolutely hours" before the seriously injured man was rescued given the remoteness of the location in the Ettrick area where the crash occurred yesterday.
Emergency services were notified about 7am, Mr Gale said.
The crash was unusual because the driver had a personal locator beacon and was able to activate it.
There is no cellphone coverage in the area.
Mr Gale said he believed the beacon made a "significant difference" to the outcome for the injured man.
He hailed the "sterling job" done by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ).
RCCNZ senior search and rescue officer Nick Burt said the centre responded to a beacon alert at 7am in rural Central Otago.
The landowner was identified and was able to inform them the incident was a motor vehicle accident.
Mr Burt encouraged people to register their beacons.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said crews from the Roxburgh and Millers Flat stations attended the scene.
One person was trapped and the jaws of life were used to extract them.
A police spokeswoman said inquiries into the circumstances of the crash were continuing.
