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A police car that crashed through a Napier fence could have hit a family home if it weren’t for a tree that stopped the vehicle, a resident says.

No one was injured in the crash which happened late morning on Monday along Geddis Ave in Maraenui.

A police spokesman said the police vehicle “was not responding to a job at the time” and enquiries into the crash were ongoing.

One of the residents at the address, Tira, who did not want her last name published, was inside her home when the crash happened.

“I was working from home in the lounge and heard a ‘bang’ then like a ‘crack’.

“From what I heard, I knew someone had crashed into our fence and smacked the tree over.”

Her partner quickly went outside and helped lift the broken fence off the police car, to assist the officers getting out of the car.

She said there were three uniformed police officers in the car - all men - and they looked relatively young.

She said, at a guess, they were probably all under 30.

“They were apologetic and quite embarrassed.”

Tira said she and her partner offered them a drink of water, like they would anyone else who crashed.

“They stayed there until the tow truck turned up to take the car away.”

She said they had a family dog which was on the lawn but fortunately was not injured, and their daughter was at school.

She said the damage included the broken fence, two broken trees, and damage to the front of the car.

She said a third tree appeared to stop the vehicle.

“If the tree had not been there, they would have gone straight into the house at the rate they were going.”

She said the police were in communication with the landlord about the repairs.

Tira said, in the aftermath of the incident, her and her partner were not sure who to ring.

“We were like ‘do we need to call the police, because they are already here’.”

When Hawke’s Bay Today asked if it was possible there would be charges after the incident, a police spokeswoman said: “I don’t believe that’s likely”.