A woman driver crashed off State Highway 29 and plunged 15m down a bank.
The accident happened in front of a police officer, and a nearby tree maintenance worker rescued the 20-year-old woman after her car was left hanging at a precarious 45-degree angle.
The crash, which occurred at 12.30pm about 100m from the Caltex petrol station on State Highway 29, brought traffic to a standstill for more than three hours.
The Mount Maunganui driver was hospitalised with minor to moderate injuries and there were flames coming from the vehicle.
The reluctant hero, who wished only to be known as Richard, was working on the side of the road when he saw the crash.
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He said the woman's black BMW was heading towards Tauranga with a police patrol car close behind when it suddenly crashed into a small bank on the road. The car spun around and careered across the road and, after hitting a parked vehicle, plunged down the bank.
He said the BMW was still in an upright position when he scrambled down the bank but was hanging at a precarious 45-degree angle.
He had to work fast to pull the dazed driver from the sliding vehicle as he feared it would career down the hill and burst into flames.
"This lady was so lucky that she was wearing her seatbelt, otherwise she would have been flung out of the front windscreen as she went over the bank," Richard said.
The woman complained of a sore back so he checked for further injuries and comforted her until the ambulance arrived.
"I don't think of myself as a hero. I just happened to be in the right place and reacted as anyone else would." Full Circle Arboriculture worker Floy Te Kani was also working on the side of the road.
On hearing a car speeding towards him, he turned and saw the BMW, with a police car following, suddenly hit a small bank, spin 180 degrees and veer across the road. He said it hit a parked traffic control vehicle and careered down the bank.
Mr Te Kani said he followed Richard down the bank with a rope and a fire extinguisher. He attached the rope to the bumper of the BMW and secured it to the ute so it would not roll down the hill.
Mr Te Kani said Richard did a "fantastic job" getting the woman, who was bleeding from the side of her head, out of the car which was steaming and had bits of flames coming from it.
A Blacktop truckie heading to Waipa said the woman was travelling at a fair pace when she hit the small bank and he got "a heck of a fright".
He had to slam on his brakes to avoid the parked vehicle the BMW hit.
Police were not pursuing the vehicle at the time.