ELECTRIC FENCE SHOCKS SAVE WRECK SURVIVOR

SHOCKS from an electric fence kept a man alive after he drove off a steep bank, crawled from the wreckage and dragged himself along the fence to find help, a friend believes.

The driver missed a corner in Masterton-Castlepoint Rd, 15 minutes east of Masterton, early on Saturday and the car went through a fence, rolled about 100 metres down a steep bank, and stopped on its roof.

The unnamed man, who was alone in the car and wearing a seatbelt, was taken to hospital with moderate injuries. Police believe speed and alcohol were possible factors in the crash, and an investigation was continuing.

However, a friend said the man had not been drinking, did not speed and knew the road well. He had been working long hours and may have fallen asleep at the wheel, she believed.

Speaking at the scene as workers removed the wreckage yesterday afternoon, she said the accident happened about 1.30am on Saturday when the man appeared to have gone straight ahead instead of turning, smashing through a sign advising of a sharp bend and rolling down the slope.

Bleeding heavily from several bad cuts but, incredibly, with no broken bones, he passed out for a while before struggling out the back door and grabbing a nearby electric fence, she said.

‘‘We think that’s what kept him alive – the shocks ... It’s hard to believe anyone could survive that,’’ she said of the crash.

For the next four hours he made his way along the electric fence, eventually reaching the road about 5.30am and flagging down a passing car.

The man had since been discharged from hospital.

Photo: CALEB HARRIS/FAIRFAX NZ Mangled heap: The injured driver and sole occupant of this crashed car crawled out of the wreckage and made his way along an electric fence to seek help. His friends could not believe he suffered only moderate injuries.