Driver cut free from vehicle after serious crash

A woman was rushed to hospital by a rescue helicopter after her car tipped off a rural Hawkes Bay road, crashed through a fence and rolled 20m down a bank.

The sedan landed upside down after leaving Waimarama Road, southeast of Hastings, trapping the driver inside.

The Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter arrived in wet conditions about 3.15pm to airlift the woman to Hawke's Bay Hospital.

The 34-year-old woman suffered shoulder and neck injuries, the rescue helicopter service said.

Emergency services used the jaws of life to free the woman from the car.

The woman was said to be conscious and talking as she was loaded into the helicopter.

The accident happened about halfway between Waipuka Rd and Waimarama Heights at about 2.40pm today.