An 80-year-old Queenstown man was airlifted to Southland Hospital with serious head injuries after the minibus he was travelling in rolled four times off State Highway 6 at Jollies Hill Pass yesterday.
Hospital staff said the man was "comfortable and stable" last night.
There were four Invercargill residents and two Queenstown residents, aged from 44 to 80, in the minivan.
His associates were either shaken or sustained sore knees and injured hands.
Senior Constable Peter Gear, of Lumsden police, said the group was employed by a rental company to transport vehicles between the towns.
The group was driving south when police believe snow and icy conditions caused the driver of the Ford Transit minibus to lose control.
The minibus left the highway at the bottom of Jollies Hill, between Athol and Lumsden and north of Five Rivers.
It went over a bank and rolled four times about 1pm.
Snr Const Gear said the vehicle was lying on the driver's side when he arrived at the scene.
The driver and the front-seat passenger were trapped in the van.
Firefighters from Athol, Mossburn and Lumsden attended and cut the two people out.
Lumsden and Winton St John crews transported those injured to Invercargill Hospital.
