Man jumps to safety as car rams shop

The crash is thought to have been caused by a medical event. Photo / File

A medical event is thought to have caused a vehicle to hit two parked cars before crashing into a shop, forcing a pedestrian to jump out of the way.

The accident occurred about 11am on Wednesday on Moerewa's main street.

Kawakawa fire chief Wayne Martin said a four-wheel-drive had glanced off the sides of two parked vehicles, then mounted the kerb near the pedestrian crossing and hit a wall of the Moerewa Food Market and the Blue Lagoon, two adjacent grocery stores.

A pedestrian was leaning against the wall as the accident unfolded.

"He had to jump out of the way pretty quick," Mr Martin said.

A number of supports holding up the shop awning had been demolished and a concrete wall had been pushed in slightly.

Firefighters made sure the building was stable and looked after the driver until St John Ambulance arrived. He was taken to Bay of Islands Hospital for a check-up.

No one else was hurt.

Builders replaced the support posts on Wednesday afternoon.

A second fire crew went to another crash around the same time in Kawakawa when a car coming over the brow of the hill on Queen St ran into the back of a queue of traffic.

There were no injuries but firefighters had to clean up spilled oil.