Whangārei car crash captured on courthouse cameras

The car after tumbling from Bank St.

A motorist in Whangārei had an early morning ride to forget after they crashed the vehicle through a fence opposite the courthouse.

The car careered through a roundabout, slid across to the other side of the road, hit a traffic island and post outside the district court, spun across the road again, crashed through a fence, over the Bank St rock wall and plummeted about 10m down into Laurie Hall Park in Whangārei.

Tracks left in the park while the car was being recovered.

The wild ride was seen by several witnesses on their way to work at around 6.30am yesterday and was captured on several videos, one of them a security camera outside Whangārei District Court.

No one was hurt in the making of the action scene, even possibly the driver of the car who allegedly ran from the scene across Laurie Hall carpark, but Whangārei Police acting Sergeant Jake Lawgun said pedestrians and at least one car travelling along Bank St were extremely lucky not to have been being hit.

''It was a very dangerous situation,'' Lawgun said.

The silver hatchback Fiat was extensively damaged, a fence broken and branches torn from trees on the park's steep garden adjacent to Bank St. Despite what appears to have been an out-of-control situation, there was no initial evidence to suggest speed was involved, Lawgun said.

''Our main concern is finding the driver and making sure that person is okay.''

The police would contact the registered owner of the car and ''work back from there.''

There was no indication the vehicle was stolen, he said.

A tow truck operator dragged the Fiat out of its position against the rock wall at around 9.30am, and Whangārei District Council contractors repaired the broken fence on Bank St above.

A spokeswoman said the council was not too concerned about the damage caused to trees or tyre marks left on a grassed area as the car was removed.

''Accidents do cause damage. We accept that and do have contingencies in place for when it happens,'' the spokeswoman said.