Man who jumped from submerged car 'quite an athlete'

The massive leap that gets the man onto dry land. Photos/Paul Taylor.

It wasn't the shot Hawke's Bay Today photographer Paul Taylor expected.

When Taylor arrived at Tamatea's Saltwater Creek to see a car submerged in the water, he watched as a young man clambered onto the roof.

"I saw a fella jump onto the car and scrabble around lifting books out through the sunroof," Taylor, who had driven to the scene from Napier Boys' High rugby match, said.

"I grabbed a few frames then waited for him to to jump back to dry land, kind of hoping he'd fail and get wet, which I thought would make a tidy shot."

As it happened, the man was "quite an athlete."

The man grabs belongings from the sinking car. Photos/Paul Taylor.

The resultant shot reveals the dramatic moment the man leapt unscathed onto the bank.

Taylor walked up to him for a chat. "I said you were lucky it didn't land on its roof, and he agreed.

"I asked if it had taught him a lesson and he said, 'yeah don't get in a car if he's driving', nodding towards his mate seated in the cop car."

The resultant shot was "prime" and there was "no need to hang around for the towies," Taylor said.

The man gets ready to leap to dry land. Photos/Paul Taylor.