A police unit en-route to an incident was waylaid after a speeding Dunedin driver’s vehicle mounted the footpath, clipped several parked cars and flipped on its roof. 

The officers were trying to turn on to Hillside Rd from Andersons Bay Rd on Wednesday at 1.40am just as a speeding 20-year-old drove down the road in the northbound lane, Sergeant Matt Lee, of Dunedin, said. 

Once the man saw police, his vehicle suddenly mounted the footpath, clipped three parked cars and hit a set of traffic lights. 

The force of the impact flipped his vehicle on to its roof, Sgt Lee said. 

When officers approached the car they saw he was being held upside down by his seatbelt. 

Police immediately helped him out of the vehicle and the man was taken to Dunedin Hospital by Hato Hone St John. 

Sgt Lee said a blood sample had been taken and police were waiting on the results before taking any further action.

On Tuesday, police received multiple calls about a woman driving erratically in Three Mile Hill Rd. 

Sgt Lee said police stopped the 27-year-old woman and asked her to undergo breath-testing procedures — she refused. 

She also refused to provide a blood sample. 

As a result she was charged with refusing an officer’s request to give blood and summonsed to appear in the Dunedin District Court at a later date. 

Refusing to provide an evidential blood sample to police in New Zealand is a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of three months in prison, a fine of up to $4500 and a mandatory minimum six-month driving disqualification.

On Monday at 5.40pm, four people were injured after a 19-year-old motorist lost control of her vehicle on a wet road. 

Emergency services were called to a three-vehicle crash near the intersection of Andersons Bay Rd and Queens Dr, St Kilda

The woman was driving when she lost control on the wet road and collided with two cars travelling in the opposite direction. 

Four people were treated for minor injuries as a result and all their vehicles were towed from the scene. 

The woman was issued with multiple infringement notices as a result of the crash, Sgt Lee said. 

laine.priestley@odt.co.nz