A 22-year-old motorist is lucky to be alive this morning after some dangerous driving maneuvers landed them in a tree on the side of the busy Gardiner Expressway.

The driver was drag racing another vehicle around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday night, Toronto police report, when they lost control while trying to illegally pass traffic on the shoulder of the road.

Holy Crap. https://t.co/x83ohkEfqJ

— RenfrewCountyScanner/PoliceScanner.ca (@RenfrewCntyScan) October 6, 2022

The man ended up going over the guard rail blocking the busy highway from some residential buildings, smashing through the adjacent wooden fence and launching airborne, then into a tree near Grand Avenue in Etobicoke.

Police closed the Expressway westbound as they and fire crews worked to free the driver and his passenger, who was allegedly trapped.

Both men were then transported to hospital, somehow with non-life threatening injuries.

One bystander noted on Twitter that the rescue and cleanup looked difficult and took some time, as they fell asleep before they got to see how the car was removed.

I fell asleep before they got it out but was curious as to how they were going to do it! pic.twitter.com/f7kr4vy0fz

— Brittany Mitchele (@bam1016) October 6, 2022

According to a City News reporter on scene, today is actually the driver's birthday — not exactly the best way to celebrate, as they are now facing charges.

Instances of stunt driving and drag racing became way more prevalent in and around Toronto during lockdown, and while authorities have vowed to crack down harder with increased penalties and enforcement, residents continue to complain about such disruptive and extremely dangerous antics in their neighbourhoods regularly.