Greymouth police are praising the courage of an 11-year-old boy who ran six kilometres for help after a car crash near Haast killed his father.
The vehicle Craig Bennett was driving crashed into a paddock just after five o'clock yesterday morning.
His son Hunter crawled from the vehicle and, unable to find his father, ran towards town in pitch darkness with only socks on his feet and raised the alarm.
Senior Sergeant Tim Crawford told Morning Report it was a courageous act in very sad circumstances.
He says police believe Mr Bennett became distracted and veered across the centre line before losing control of the vehicle.
