Lucky escape after West Coast crash

A trio of Taiwanese tourists had a lucky escape on Monday when their car flew through the air at least 10m after attempting a sudden turnoff near Kumara due to following GPS instructions.

The sound of the crash at Donegals, at the Old Christchurch Road intersection, about 1.20pm alerted a nearby resident who rushed to find a car on its side down a steep bank and hidden by bush.

Kumara Volunteer Fire Brigade station officer Russell Ilton said the car made a spectacular exit from State highway 73, flying straight through the corner.

"They were coming from Christchurch to Hokitika. Because of those GPSs they tell them to turn and they didn't make the corner.

"They were three very lucky young people.

"[Their car] would have left the road and flown probably 10m in the air and landed on its side in a creek bed, about 10m down a bank ... you couldn't see the car from the road. The neighbour heard the crash and went down."

Everyone was out when the brigade arrived about 1.30pm.

Two of the occupants had suffered moderate injuries; one woman had bumps to the head and another a facial injury, while their male companion was unharmed.

The brigade spent about 30 minutes tending to the injured until St John arrived from Greymouth.

- by Brendon McMahon