BY IAN CROUCH
A driver has been lucky to escape with only minor injuries after an early morning crash at Merriwa.
Emergency services were called to King George V Avenue just before 5 o'clock on Thursday morning where the car had left the road, crashing through a fence and into a tree in the backyard of a home.
Newcastle Fire Command says the vehicle briefly caught on the fire, with witnesses isolating the battery and crews cooling the vehicle with water.
The driver has been taken to hospital with minor arm and leg injuries.
