Four people were lucky to avoid injury, after a single vehicle crash at Butchers Dam early this morning.

Alexandra Police senior sergeant Clint Wright said emergency services attended the accident on State Highway 8 near Butchers Dam at 5am.

A single vehicle carrying four New Caledonian nationals left the road, rolled and impacted a concrete lamppost. "Surprisingly there were no injuries however the car and post are substantially damaged. The post will require replacing. Police enquiries are underway as to the cause of the crash."

The week that was for local police:

During this week, the Impairment Prevention Team from Queenstown conducted a road-side checkpoint in Cromwell. 300 drivers were processed and didn’t record any readings or levels of intoxication that required enforcement.

On Friday night, Alexandra Police processed nearly 400 drivers and again nobody was recorded as having excess breath alcohol. 

On Saturday, Alexandra Police stopped a 30-year-old Invercargill man on Conroys Road. The man underwent roadside breath test procedures and provided an evidential result of 536 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The man was forbidden to drive for 12 hours and summonsed to appear in the Alexandra District Court at a future date, charged with driving with excess breath alcohol. 

Alexandra also stopped a 19-year-old Invercargill man on Centennial Avenue. The man underwent roadside breath test procedures and provided an evidential result of 674 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The man was forbidden to drive for 12 hours, and his driver’s licence was suspended for 28 days. He was also summonsed to appear in the Alexandra District Court at a future date, charged with driving with excess breath alcohol. 

Also on Saturday, Alexandra Police responded to a family harm episode where a 29-year-old Balclutha man had breached his bail conditions by travelling to an address in Alexandra in breach of a protection order. He had left when Police arrived and enquiries are continuing.   

Later in the night, Alexandra Police responded to an 18-year-old Waitaki man passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle on Manuherikia Road. When woken up he became aggressive and Police managed him until a parent arrived. Police would like to speak to any members of the public that saw the vehicle parked on Manuherikia Road on Saturday night.  

On Thursday, a 17-year-old Cromwell man was issued an infringement notice after he collided with a stationary vehicle while distracted. 

Also on Thursday, Cromwell Police assisted with traffic control during a fire at a commercial property in Barry Avenue. The building was subsequently secured for the Fire Investigator to complete his scene examination in the morning, to determine the cause of the fire.

On Friday, Cromwell Police attended a family harm episode where a 42-year-old Cromwell woman was served a Police Safety Order for two and a half days.

On Monday, while on rural patrol in Chatto Creek, Police stopped a driver leaving the carpark of a licensed premises. A 59-year-old Omakau woman underwent alcohol evidential tests and was issued an infringement range excess breath alcohol notice and forbidden to drive for 12 hours.

"People who drive while impaired by alcohol are putting themselves at risk, as well as everyone else on the road. We are all too familiar with the devastating results drink driving can cause." 

"While most drivers are doing the right thing, we are still disappointed that we’re continuing to see people putting themselves and other road users at risk.

Our aim is to prevent tragic incidents on our roads, and we make no apology for targeting dangerous driving behaviour.

"Anyone heading out on the road should be prepared to be stopped and breath tested any time. Please, plan ahead if you’re going to be drinking, and make sure you have arranged a safe way to get home afterward – whether that is organising a sober driver, getting picked up, or catching a taxi or ride share. We want everyone to get where they're going safely."