The 22-year-old driver, who did not wish to be named, said it was quite shallow.
He said a truck driver had checked to see if he was okay and handed him a knife, which he used to cut his seatbelt and get out.
He had travelled from Auckland yesterday morning and was on his way to see friends.
Earlier in the day, police apprehended two men after a car hit a suburban Napier house, knocking down a street-lamp and carport.
The silver Ford Falcon ploughed into a house in Nuffield Ave, opposite the end of Massey Cres, Marewa, about 8.30am.
Two male occupants fled on foot, one running down the driveway, past a house at the rear of the section and scaling a fence towards Barker Rd.
Police said the other fled towards Massey Cres, but with the help of a police dog both were found soon afterwards in the Barker Rd area.
"The driver underwent a compulsory impairment test at the police station," a police spokesman said.
The rear neighbour said crashes at the intersection weren't unusual. "They seem to hit the trees a lot. And they've taken out the pole a few times. Young guys think they can play rally drivers on the streets of Napier.
"I heard the bang, I didn't know it was out here. But both dogs were barking: his and mine."
