Police are investigating whether a motorist forced another vehicle off the road and caused it to crash through fences and land on its roof less than 1m from a bedroom where people were sleeping.
They are also trying to establish if a gun was involved.
The developments come after FairySprings Rd resident Ethan Draper woke up to his wife “screaming” after the crash.
If the car rolled just one more time, he believes “it would have killed us”.
Police were called to the two-vehicle crash on Fairy Springs Rd in Rotorua on Wednesday about 10.54pm.
Four people were injured in the crash, one critically.
A police spokeswoman said police were “in the early stages of investigating this crash and working to determine what occurred, including whether a firearm was involved”.
Initial indications suggest one driver drove the other off the road, she said.
The front yard was “destroyed” and the clean-up had started this morning.
His own car was also written off in the crash.
He said his five children were “gutted” when they woke up this morning. Draper said they would need to walk and catch the bus to get around.
He wanted action taken following the crash.
“It’s hurt a lot of families, not just the people in the car.”
Emergency services staff work at the scene of the crash on Fairy Springs Rd on Wednesday night.
Fairy Springs Rd residents clean up after the crash. Photo / Andrew Warner
A Hato Hone St John spokesman said three ambulances and one manager were sent to the scene where crews assessed four patients and took all four to Rotorua Hospital.
A Rotorua Hospital spokeswoman said one patient remained in hospital in a serious condition, one had been transferred to Waikato Hospital and two others had been discharged.
