A man was seriously injured in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) late on Tuesday night when he appeared to lose control of his car at a traffic circle before smashing into the garden wall of the historic St Andrew's College school chapel.

A street camera captured the dramatic moment in which the car is seen soaring high over the traffic circle outside the school before smashing into the wall.

Police spokesperson Capt Mali Govender said the driver was bleeding badly, including seemingly from the ears, and was taken to hospital.

She said details remained sketchy but an accident report had been opened and an investigation was under way.

Reports that the driver was a SANDF soldier could not be confirmed.

-This article has been amended to clarify that the vehicle crashed into the chapel's garden wall, not the chapel itself.

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