Two cars crashed in different parts of Palmerston North in the space of 10 minutes of each other, with one ruining a backyard and the other leaving a man seriously injured.

The first crash happened on Aokautere Dr at 9.50pm Wednesday, when a motorist lost control and ploughed into a fence.

The second was on Napier Rd near Ashhurst, when a car hit a tree about 10 minutes later.

The 64-year-old driver was seriously injured and was cut from his car by firefighters.

He was taken to Palmerston North Hospital and later flown to Wellington Hospital. No other cars were involved.

The police serious crash unit is investigating.

The other crash wiped out about 10 metres of fence and narrowly avoided hitting Erin Lynch’s house beyond it.

Mrs Lynch said the fence was likely to cost a few thousand dollars to replace. She had insurance assessors at the property yesterday.

Mrs Lynch, her husband and two children heard the crash and emerged from the house to see their back yard destroyed. ‘‘It was just a horrendous bang,’’ she said.

She was grateful the car did not hit her dog, which was roaming around the back yard, or her children.

‘‘It’s very common for my son to be just out here throwing the ball and stick to the dog,’’ she said.

The family pets now had to be kept inside to avoid them roaming on to the exposed road.

Mrs Lynch said the 19-year-old driver of the Mazda RX7, which came to rest against a power pole, was already out of the car and unhurt when they found him.

He was spoken to by police and the car was pulled out of the back yard and removed by Crash Services about two hours later.

Mrs Lynch said she hoped the driver and her own children would learn from the crash.

‘‘That’s the thing I stressed to my son – he saw it first-hand and he knows this guy was lucky to be alive,’’ she said.

‘‘The guy was lucky he didn’t kill himself. He ended up sideways in here so he’s actually spun right out.’’

Constable Ross Andrew attended the crash and said speed and inexperience were believed to be factors.

The police investigation is continuing.

Mr Andrew said the driver was lucky not to be seriously hurt.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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