A driver trapped in a ditch with no idea of where she had crashed was quickly found by Lawrence firefighters yesterday thanks to a new caller location system for mobile 111 calls.
Lawrence chief fire officer Rory Tisdall said it was the first time he had seen the ''amazing'' new system in action.
The woman reported her crash about 3.30am.
Mr Tisdall said Fire and Emergency New Zealand communications staff in Wellington used the woman's cellphone to pinpoint the crashed car to the intersection of Breakneck Rd and State Highway 8, between Lawrence and Waitahuna.
The car was wedged in a deep ditch, and the woman, whom he understood was moving into the district at the time and whose car was packed with her belongings, was freed after her car was towed out.
Her dog was also rescued unharmed.
''She looked shaken,'' Mr Tisdall said.
The location area service system, launched in May last year and overseen by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, uses location data provided by users' mobile network (all handset types) or from their handset for Android phones.
A police spokeswoman said the system was available whenever a 111 call was received from a smartphone, but the operator would first work to verify the caller's location verbally.
St John spokesman Gerard Campbell said an ambulance attended the crash, but the driver was uninjured and no treatment was required.
