Dramatic crash fuels calls for action against Hawke's Bay speedsters

There are calls for more action to reduce speeding in Hawke's Bay after a dramatic crash in Hastings where a speeding car was launched through the air and into a stack of crates.

Police said the car was speeding down Kenilworth Road at midnight on Saturday when it hit a patch of gravel that propelled it up and over railway tracks and into the wooden orchard crates.

The car was wedged head-on and the unconscious driver had to be pulled from the boot of the car in a precarious hour-long rescue.

"It was a difficult one," Hastings Fire Station officer Joel Fraser said. "We had to work off the heads of ladders and tunnel in from the rear of the vehicle... it was difficult."

Firefighters screwed the bins together above the car so it was safe to pry it open and climb inside, all while working 10 metres up amongst a pile of wooden crates. 

"We fixed the driver into a stretcher and essentially slid him down a ladder while he was attached to a line," Fraser said.

The driver is still in a stable condition in Hastings Hospital.

The crash occurred in an area known for speeding and former policeman Duncan Mackay believes it's getting worse. He has been asking the boy racers to go away.

Mackay took a petition to the council demanding action and wants more done to keep the community safe.

"[It's] only a matter of time before there are deaths," he says.

The council has put a camera on the road, and Hastings Councillor Peleti Oli says an increase in police numbers has helped the situation.

"There has been a lot of cars impounded due to guys doing burnouts and driving recklessly."

This recent accident is an example of just how reckless some drivers are.