Uber passengers injured in early morning crash

An Uber crash which left two men injured and three cars damaged is being investigated by the taxi company. Kristian Schmidt, 31, and Michael Aholelei, 30, are recovering after the crash in Coronation Rd, Hillcrest around 4.30am on Saturday.

The pair were getting a ride home to Hillcrest after celebrating in Ponsonby. Schmidt, who is actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's cousin, had just got an American visa and Aholelei had his work's Christmas party.

They had fallen asleep in an Uber car but were jolted awake when the Uber car collided with a parked car, before spinning around and hitting another parked car.

"We woke up to the car filling up with smoke," Schmidt, who is an MTV presenter, said.

Schmidt recalled the crash was so loud neighbours were woken. The friends walked home and did not realise the extent of their injuries until the following morning.

They woke up sore and took themselves to hospital. Aholelei had whiplash and bruising around the spine and neck and was sent home with a brace.

Schmidt said a doctor told him he believed he had cracked ribs.

"It was a violent crash, the airbags popped on the passenger side and the door hit Mike's arm and hand as it popped out when the car hit the parked car.

Kristian 'Krit' Schmidt who was a passenger in an Uber car when the driver collided with these cars parked on Coronation Road, Hillcrest. Photo / Dean Purcell

"My chest was sore from the impact against our seatbelt. Mike's injuries were worse than mine, as the alcohol wore off we realised how much pain we were in and my friend has been forced to wear a neck brace."

Uber spokesman Mike Scott told the Herald it was investigating the crash and had reached out to both the passengers and the driver.

He said in some cases the company would temporarily suspend a driver's access to the Uber app while investigating an incident. He would not comment on the specific circumstances of this crash for privacy reasons.

"Safety is a top priority for Uber and we take allegations such as these seriously.

"Uber may deactivate the account of a driver who receives multiple complaints or a single serious complaint of poor, unsafe or distracted driving while using the Uber app."

Schmidt said he sent a message to Uber the day after the accident and got a message back apologising and containing the details for ACC and the driver.

He claimed Uber instructed that if there were any costs that ACC did not cover to contact the driver directly.

Schmidt claimed he was only able to speak to an Uber representative on Monday, two days after the accident. He had hoped for a more caring response.

"Just some sort of reassurance to show us that it's not going to happen again to someone else," he said.

"I won't be using Uber in New Zealand again."

Schmidt was grateful that the crash wasn't worse.

"I'm just thankful it wasn't a motorway or a driveway. Thank goodness it was on an empty residential street."

Police confirmed they were called to a crash in the early hours of Saturday morning where two parked cars were hit in Hillcrest. They were unable to provide more information until tomorrow morning.