An individual was seriously injured and trapped overnight after his vehicle left the road and plunged 10 to 15 metres down a steep bank on Puriri Bay Road, near Tryphena.
Emergency services were alerted around 7.50am this morning after the man, unable to escape or call for help, used his car horn to draw attention.
“Police understand the vehicle [came] off the road and down an embankment last night,” a police spokesperson said. “The driver was trapped and managed to alert members of the public to his whereabouts using the vehicle’s horn this morning.”
The car had landed on rocks along the coast and was not visible from the road. The man remained in the wreckage overnight with no way to get help until someone heard the horn early this morning.
The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter was called to Tryphena at 7.55am. A spokesperson confirmed the man was winched from the scene and flown to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition.
Police said no one else was in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
Locals, emergency services and the helicopter crew have been acknowledged for their response.
