The driver of a car that crashed into and knocked over a wooden power pole and then burst into flames on the Lindis Pass Highway just before 2pm yesterday is believed by police to have fallen asleep at the wheel.
The two male German tourists in the Nissan Sunny rental car escaped without injury and also managed to rescue their possessions.
However, the car was destroyed.
Cromwell Constable Terry Saunders, said there were no skid marks on the road and all the evidence pointed to the driver having been asleep.
The fire, which spread to a small amount of roadside vegetation, was believed to have been caused by the damaged car rather than the damaged power lines.
The tourists had been travelling north and had just rounded an 85kmh bend about 20km north of Tarras.
A Wastech water tanker working in the area was first on the scene, followed by the Omarama and Cromwell Volunteer Fire Brigades.
