A 46-year old Bluff man was in a "comfortable and satisfactory condition" in Invercargill Hospital yesterday after he had been thrown from a van, in which he was a passenger, when it left the road near Te Anau Downs, about 4.30pm on Sunday.
Constable Glenn Matheson, of Te Anau, said yesterday the man was the only one of five occupants of the Ford Transit van who was injured.
The vehicle was thought to have rolled at least once and came to rest on its wheels, on State Highway 94, near Dunton Creek, about 5km north of Te Anau Downs.
The man smashed through a window as he was thrown on to grass, and was the only occupant who was not wearing a seat belt.
He suffered chest and abdominal injuries.
Const Matheson said a 39-year-old woman from Bluff was driving the van as it travelled from Milford Sound back to Te Anau.
No other vehicles were involved.
• A 38-year-old female German tourist escaped serious injury when the rented Mitsubishi campervan she was driving rolled off State Highway 94 on Sunday, at 2.30pm.
Senior Constable Heather Wyllie, of Te Anau, said the crash was probably due to driver inattention and charges were being considered.
The incident occurred near an area known as "Wilderness", about 2.30pm.
• A 38-year-old Taupo man was charged after he allegedly argued with a member of the public and "lashed out", in Shotover St, Queenstown, yesterday, at 1.25am.
• Two Queenstown men were charged with wilful damage after allegedly removing a decorative fixture from the theme bar Cowboys, on Sunday, about 10pm.
All of the men were expected to appear in the Queenstown District Court on January 17.
