Rotorua gym owner 'looking at the bright side' after car crashes through building

Demolition work has started early for a Rotorua gym owner looking to make extensions to after a car slammed into his building.

Joshua Gardiner, owner of Crossfit Ruark, was awoken over the weekend to the news that a car had smashed through the brick wall of his gym.

Officers had been notified that a car had crashed into a wall off Old Taupo Rd on Saturday morning, a police spokeswoman said.

Gardiner said CCTV footage showed that the incident happened about 1am.

The car in the side of the building. Photo / Supplied

He headed down to assess the damage when officers arrived and managed to track down the driver of the vehicle.

"I kind of felt sorry for him..."

The damage from the inside of the gym. Photo / Supplied

"I have been looking at extending that wall for a while now to make the gym bigger... he's started the job for me," Gardiner said.

The car involved was badly damaged. Photo / Andrew Warner

He said he was looking into the possibility of creating another access point where the damage was caused. It was his way of "looking at the bright side" and he was "hoping it may help" with getting started on renovations.

The gym was insured, but Gardiner said any building work would need to wait a while with current lockdown conditions.

Crossfit Ruark owner Joshua Gardiner. Photo / Supplied

He had bolted a sign over the damage to "weather-proof" it and ensure no one could break-in.

"It's not all bad."

A police spokeswoman said police had spoken to the driver of the vehicle, and further investigation into what happened was underway.

The Nissan Tilda involved in the incident sustained major frontal damage.

A Daily Post reporter at the scene said the airbags had been deployed and the car windows were down.