LOOK-ALIKE: Police are looking for a dark-coloured Nissan - possibly a Terrano such as this one - over a road rage incident.

A man has been charged after an alleged road rage incident in Canterbury.

The 51-year-old man from Ohoka was arrested on Tuesday and will appear in Christchurch District Court on Wednesday.

He was charged with injuring with intent to cause grevious bodily harm and cruelty to an animal.

The incident allegedly involved him trying to run over a man and his dog as they walked along Downs Rd, near Swannanoa about 6pm on Monday.

Earlier police said the pedestrian desperately tried to scale a barbed wire fence to escape from the motorist.

The local man was out walking with his wife, two young children and their family dog when the Nissan came racing down Downs Rd, Detective Senior Sergeant Rex Barnett said.

The man beckoned to the car to slow down as it was just about to go over the Eyre River crossing, Barnett said.

"Obviously the driver took umbrage at the suggestion he was going too fast so he then deliberately ran over the man," Barnett said.

Police said the driver allegedly lined up the pedestrian on a number of occasions, executing U-turns on the tight rural road.

The local man was forced to take "evasive action" but was allegedly run over at least once.

"He [the injured man] has a tyre mark on his back just above his hip," Barnett said.

"At one stage the man was attempting to jump over a barbed wire fence on the road verge."

The man suffered injuries to his shoulder, his ankle, cuts to his hands from the barb wire fence, cuts to his forehead and bruising, Barnett said.

He was since been released from hospital and did not want to comment on the incident on Tuesday.

As the motorist left the scene, the dog was in the road and was also struck.

The animal suffered leg injuries, Barnett said. It was put down on Tuesday by a vet due to the severity of its injuries..

The incident was described as "extremely serious" by Barnett.

The man escaped serious injury only because of "good luck and evasive action".