A person is dead and three others were seriously injured in a crash in Ashburton overnight.

Emergency services were called to the single-car crash on Wakanui Rd about 3am, police said.

One person died at the scene and three others suffered serious to moderate injuries.

A property on nearby Rapley St was badly damaged when the vehicle smashed through two pine trees and the front-yard fence.

Resident Steve Allen told Stuff: "It was like an explosion. The only thing that saved the house was the tree. Otherwise, it would have continued shooting right through.

"It shook the whole house,'' he said.

Another resident told the publication he likened the noise from the crash to the Christchurch earthquakes.

"Cars aren't meant to be bulldozers.''

The Police Serious Crash Unit is investigating.