One person has been seriously injured after a two-car crash on Iles Rd in Rotorua this morning.
Police were called to the scene at the intersection of Iles Rd and Selwyn Rd at 9.54am.
One person was initially trapped and had to be cut out of the car by Fire and Emergency NZ staff.
The road was closed while emergency service staff cleared the scene, however it has now re-opened.
According to the St John Twitter account two people were taken to Rotorua Hospital, one with serious injuries and one with minor injuries.
Four ambulances were at the scene.
Selwyn St resident Ian Stabler said his whole house shook with the impact of the crash and he ran to help.
"I heard a loud revving noise, a big bang and then silence . . . I grabbed my shoes and ran out," Stabler said.
UPDATE 12/06/16 09:53: Traffic incident in Lynmore. 2 patients treated, 2 patients transported to Rotorua Hospital. No further details available. https://t.co/oLvahS9n1B
— St John (@StJohnAlerts) June 11, 2019
Springs from the suspension were strewn across the road, one wheel had turned at a 90-degree angle and two men were inside the car which was scrunched against the concrete power pole on the passenger side.
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They were both breathing but the passenger was breathing quite badly, Stabler said.
"He looked in a bad way but I was surprised he was still breathing," he said.
His yearly first-aid training was being put into practice as he remained calm and spoke with the men until a medic came to deal with the man in a more serious condition.
"It's just about looking after them," he said.
A neighbour said she had heard the crash which sounded like thunder and was "really loud."
A woman who lived on Selwyn Rd said she was out walking when it happened and spoke to neighbours afterwards.
"Apparently all the houses shook," she said.
Iles Rd resident Charles Edwards said the road and surrounding streets had become a rat-run for motorists wanting to avoid peak traffic along Te Ngae Rd.
He said the road had become noisy.
"I foresee more problems when they start working on the roundabout," Edwards said.
Several residents on Selwyn Rd and Iles Rd spoke to the Rotorua Daily Post about their concerns of the roads.
The mentioned the volume of traffic had increased as people avoided Te Ngae and the lack of speed bumps meant speed was increasing.
Resident Kat Laugesen was a home-based teacher of her children and said she feared he children walking out onto the sidewalk.