Police received a report at about 5.40pm yesterday that a pedestrian had been struck by a car, near the intersection of Esk and Doon Sts.
‘‘However, on arrival it was found that the injured person had been assisting with jump-starting a car,’’ a spokeswoman said.
While half in and half out of the car, the person appeared to have ‘‘inadvertently pushed the accelerator’’ while the car was in gear.
This caused them to fall on to the road and injure themselves, the spokeswoman said.
A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said they responded with one ambulance and one rapid response unit.
One patient, in a serious condition, was transported to Invercargill Hospital.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said they responded with crews from Kingswell and Invercargill stations who assisted with the medical response on scene.
