A Queenstown man convinced drivers coming over the Crown Range from Wānaka at 4am on Saturday (September 21), not to travel any further, after making up a story about a crash.

Alexandra Police Senior Constable Graham Perkins said the man had come to police attention earlier in the week.

He told drivers to pull over and shine their lights downhill because there had been an accident on the road, but that was not actually the case.

The man then drove to Arrowtown and woke a family, telling them that aliens were coming.

Police were called, but the man failed to stop and drove away back over the Crown Range towards Wānaka.

Snr Const Perkins said road spikes were deployed, but he continued to drive at low speeds of between 5km/hr and 25km/h despite his vehicle having four tyres punctured. 

He eventually failed to take a corner and rolled his vehicle at 5:25am.

He was arrested and taken back to Queenstown where mental health authorities were called. He faces a number of charges, including failing to stop for police.