West Coast man clambers out of crushed car to discover he broke his neck, six ribs

The wreck of the car after the tree was pulled off it. Photo / Supplied

Ryan Walsh maintains he's just a normal New Zealand bloke who unfortunately became the victim of "random life moment".

He was driving along State Highway 7 near Reefton on Sunday when a tree fell over and crushed his beloved Honda City.

Walsh doesn't remember much from the incident except waking up covered in glass and on the floor of his car looking at the mangled mess.

Amazingly, he managed to wriggle himself through the driver's side window and waited for help to arrive.

"I was just driving back to Christchurch, doing about 90k and then just BAM!" Walsh told the Herald.

The tree randomly fell on the car when Ryan Walsh was driving along SH7. Photo / Supplied

"I don't even remember the impact, I must have got knocked out because when I came to I was trapped in the car.

"I got out and was standing there on an empty road with my car with a tree through the middle of it."

As he waited on the road a mate randomly popped up on the scene with his ute and helped pull the tree off his car, which was destroyed.

A man with a love of motorcycles, Walsh said the accident was devastating because he drives only cheap cars but the City had been amazing.

"I've had it for the past two-and-a-half years and it has just been primo," Walsh told the Herald.

"It runs like an absolute clock, has the meanest heater, it's got wicked sounds in it, it's got wicked window wipers, it's a great little car. I'm shattered that it's flat now."

Ryan Walsh clambered out of his crushed car by himself despite a broken neck and six broken ribs. Photo / Supplied

After pulling the tree off the car, Walsh got back into the driver's seat and parked it on the side of the road to allow other cars to get past.

It wasn't until he arrived at hospital and the staff told him he had broken his neck and six ribs that he realised the extent of his injuries.

Fitted with a full-body neck brace, Walsh is stuck in a bed at Christchurch Hospital and until today he hasn't been able to sit up.

"I can't even feel it, [the ribs are] not even sore. They're there because it's on the x-ray but I didn't even know," he said.

"The neck's the real bad one, it's a C2 fracture - it's more serious than I thought."

While he's been stuck in hospital, one of his friends, Peter Turner, has started a Givealittle page to raise money to help Walsh get a new Honda City.

Ryan Walsh parked his smashed car to the side of the road after removing the tree. Photo / Supplied

However, earlier this evening a friend of Turner's got in touch and said "for $100 and a good bottle of plonk" he'll give Walsh a new City.

"I thought you'd be silly not to take that," Turner told the Herald.

"We'll see how we go, the car isn't going and I've got a few engineering mates who might be able to help us get it going."

Walsh said he was extremely grateful for the help of his friends after the accident and he wanted to especially thank emergency services and hospital staff.

"I've been made out to be a hard tough guy, but I'm not," he said.

"I want to give thank you to all the staff of Reefton, Greymouth and Christchurch hospitals and ambulance.

"They've all been fantastic and they're a different type of person to do the job they do, it's unreal."