Smash puts parked car through fence

A man driving to work on Otonga Rd slammed into the back of a parked car sending it through a nearby fence.

Police said the crash happened at 7.05am yesterday morning when a man drove his ute into a parked car near the top of Otonga Rd in Springfield.

Rotorua police Sergeant Pauline Jones said police and ambulance attended the crash but the man had only minor injuries and was not taken to hospital.

She said there was nobody in the car when the crash happened.

When The Daily Post arrived at the scene about 8.15am a tow truck was driving away with the ute which had a badly damaged bonnet.

The small car, which looked like a Toyota Corolla, had a badly damaged back end and was sitting on the lawn of a nearby house at a 90-degree angle to the road.

The car had half gone through a picket fence at the front of the house. One of the tenants at the house, who did not want to be named, said they slept through the crash and only discovered the car when they heard voices outside.

He said they had just recently moved into the house, so it was somewhat of a "welcoming present".

The owner of the car, who did not want to be named, told The Daily Post she had arrived for work about 7am and had parked on the side of the road.

She said not long after she had gone inside she heard the crash and walked outside to see what had happened.

The woman said she was shocked to see the damage.

She said the ute driver was in shock as they waited for police and ambulance to arrive.

Her car was towed away later that morning.

Police said they were still investigating and the driver had not been charged at this stage.