Andreas Pfyl has now added his voice to a call for more speed warning signs at two bends on Portobello Rd that residents say are an accident hot-spot
The teenage driver was returning to Dunedin from Portobello on Friday night with three passengers at 10.55pm when he left the road at Sunnybrae, about 5km from Dunedin.
"I just got sideways going round a corner, tried to correct, overcorrected and went the other way."
The Nissan Primera hit a power pole and a tree, before sliding down the bank into the harbour and turning upside down.
Andreas, his girlfriend and two male friends were all wearing seat belts.
"There was a bit of panic. We were all disoriented. We didn't know where we were. Water was rushing in."
One of the rear doors would not open because of the impact with the power pole and the position of the car prevented two other doors from opening.
"There was a bit of fear when we first hit the water and it began coming in quite fast. We thought we were probably going to die."
The car was three-quarters submerged and the occupants were able to breathe from an air pocket inside the car.
Andreas "finally managed" to get his driver's door opened and, with the help of the front-seat passenger, dragged the other two from the rear seats.
One of the occupants received bruising and Andreas had cut hands and a sore shoulder but was still able to represent his school in a football tournament in Invercargill this week.
Alcohol and excessive speed are not believed to have been factors in the crash.
Andreas said he was driving at less than the 70kmh Portobello Rd limit as he entered the first of the two bends at Sunnybrae.
He touched the brakes as he entered the bend and the car went out of control.
He was unfamiliar with driving on the road at night and believed well-lit signs warning about the bends should be installed.
Nearby residents say there have been between 10 and 15 accidents on the 100m stretch of road outside their house this year.
Senior Constable Lox Kellas, of Portobello, has described the bends as "notorious" and will be discussing the possibility of erecting warning signs with Dunedin City Council traffic engineers tomorrow.
mark.price@odt.co.nz
