The girls had climbed into the truck to play.
''They managed to kick it out of gear and the handbrake failed and it rolled,'' he said.
A man then came up the driveway carrying his eldest daughter ''covered in blood''.
The girls were taken to Dunedin Hospital by St John ambulance, but were discharged early in the afternoon.
Mr Rankin had bought the truck only a fortnight ago - after spending six months without a vehicle - and now faced another layoff without a car, as it was not insured.
''I didn't have it long enough to think about it [insurance],'' he said.
The girls' father Mike Rankin. Photo / Gerard O'Brien
''But my main concern is the girls. I don't care about the truck. It can be replaced.''
Jasmine received a cut and bump on her head, while Mikaela ''walked away without a scratch''.
The pair were ''a wee bit shaken up but otherwise OK'', Mr Rankin said.
The first people at the scene were twins Aria and Callum Steele-MacIntosh and their father, Tony Dick.
Callum climbed into the truck to rescue the girls.
''I just heard screaming coming from the car, so I pushed the window and saw the girl had her legs crushed between the roof and seat,'' the King's High School pupil said.
''The car was leaking diesel and oil and I didn't want it to blow up.''
He managed to free Jasmine and then saw Mikaela.
''They basically just grabbed me. They were a bit shocked.''
Aria calmed the girls, who were worried about their father's truck.
They were ''quite lucky'' to escape with only minor injuries, the Otago Girls' High School pupil said.
''If they were in the wrong place or if something little had changed they could have been squished.''
The trio did not hear the accident but saw ''some rubbish fly across the road'', Aria said.
''We thought it was a rubbish bin falling over.'Another witness said she ran to the scene after hearing the accident.
''We just heard a bang - one loud bang - and we came down and saw the truck flipped,'' the woman said.
''The parents had the two kids wrapped in a blanket in the back of an ambulance.''
Station Officer Murray Little, of Lookout Point, said the Fire Service was called to assist with cleaning up the scene.
Acting Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen said police were notified of the accident and had spoken to the family.
While police were not pursuing the matter, it provided a timely reminder for parents and caregivers, he said.
''Ensure you have observations on your children and don't leave them unattended in unlocked vehicles''.
