Emergency services at the scene. Photo: Supplied
A witness says a woman in her 60s was struck by a car while crossing Courtenay Place in central Wellington and carried about 15m down the road until she was thrown off.
The serious crash has left a person in a critical condition.
Emergency services were told of the crash involving a vehicle and pedestrian at 8:25pm on Monday.
Sergeant Simon King said police had "quite a bit of work to do to establish what happened". He said he expected the road would remain closed off for some time.
A customer at a bar on Courtenay Place said he saw a car come around the corner at the southern end of the street and struck a woman in her sixties as she crossed the road.
The witness said the woman was carried about 15m down the street until she was thrown off the driver side of the vehicle.
He said people rushed to help the woman and directed traffic away from the scene of the accident, while other people ran to the vehicle to stop the elderly male driver from leaving.
"I was on the bonnet and another person took their keys and told him to get out of the car and kept him there."
Another witness - Paula Smith - said a German passport was knocked from the woman's bag by the impact. Smith said the woman was bleeding onto the road from a significant head wound.
Smith said the situation was difficult, but she was proud of the immediate actions of people in the area.
"It's when you're proud of your city, right? When people just jump in.
"It's horrible to see, but everybody that could just jumped in to help."
Smith said police and ambulances arrived quickly and the driver and the woman were swiftly taken from the scene.
The Serious Crash Unit is now at the scene.
Both sides of Courtenay Place - between Tory Street and Cambridge Terrace - have been closed.
Police said motorists should avoid the area.
Photo: RNZ/Bill Hickman
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