Police are calling for help from the public after a drunken driver smashed his car into a taxi early on Sunday.
The driver of a silver Nissan Sunny drove through a stop sign and smashed into the passenger's door of the taxi about 1am at the intersection of Glenpark Ave and Glen Rd, Constable Pete Bevin said.
''If a passenger had been there, it wouldn't have been pretty,'' he said.
The driver of the taxi sustained whiplash and bruises, but was otherwise uninjured.
The driver of the Sunny and his passenger fled the scene, Const Bevin said.
''[He] was seen to threaten the taxi driver and then run away from the scene, then come back to the scene, attempt to start the car and then left again,'' he said.
The man was seen running down Glenpark Ave towards Aitken Pl and was ''bleeding from the head''.
He attempted to hit the taxi driver and verbally abused him, although he was to blame for the crash, Const Bevin said.
The driver left blood on the driver's side of the Sunny and it was being analysed by forensic specialists, he said.
However, police wanted to speak to anyone who witnessed the crash or helped the taxi driver following it.
''People came out to help police, but details weren't taken from them,'' he said.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Const Bevin at the Dunedin Central Police Station on 471-4800.
Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
