Four hurt after 'racing' cars crash | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

Residents living opposite Wanganui Collegiate School say occupants of two cars speeding along Liverpool St are lucky to be alive after both vehicles crashed.

Speeding cars along that stretch of inner-city street were a major problem, according to people living in the neighbourhood who spoke to the Chronicle.

Wanganui police said a white Ford Telstar and grey Toyota Celica sustained substantial damage after the crash about 3am yesterday.

Police said it appeared the vehicles had been racing each other on Liverpool St, between College St and Grey St, when both left the road.

Four people were taken to Wanganui Hospital. One of the occupants was in serious condition, while the others suffered non-life threatening injuries.

One car smashed into a power pole and the other ricocheted into a tree on the opposite side of the road. There were believed to be five occupants in the car that hit the pole and some of them had to be cut free by the fire service.

The serious crash unit from Palmerston North was called in to assist with the investigation and carried out a detailed examination.

The crash cut power to the surrounding area for several hours, about the time the All Blacks-Springboks test match kicked off in Johannesburg.

The incident happened right outside Melissa and Russell Eades' home in Liverpool St.

Mrs Eades said the worst damage was sustained by the car that hit the power pole next to the Collegiate rugby ground. The other car, which careered across the street smashing into the tree directly in front of their home, suffered more moderate damage.

"As far as we could tell the worst of the injuries happened to those in the car that hit the pole. They had to cut some of those people free from that car," she said.

She called police and said their response was very quick.

Mrs Eades said speeding on that stretch of Liverpool St had been a problem for as long as they have been living there.

"There's been speeding traffic on this part of the street certainly as long as we've been here and we arrived in 2002.

Both she and her husband said speeding was an issue Friday and Saturday nights.

"We've mentioned the speeding to authorities but only in passing," Mrs Eades said.

"We haven't made any formal moves but I did send a letter into council asking if they could take the grass verges away to make the street wider. I thought that might help, especially when there's an event on at Collegiate when parking becomes a real problem."

Mrs Eades said they would now be putting a fence across the front of their property.

Police are asking any witnesses or members of the public with information to contact them.