Driver escapes serious injury after huge tree falls on his car
A Tesla driver has narrowly avoided serious injury after his car was crushed by a huge pine tree in Melbourne's south-east.
The tree ripped down powerlines and smashed into the car after falling over across the intersection of St Kilda Street and North Road in Brighton around 11am.
The driver, in his 70s, had stopped at a red light when the pine tree fell on top of his car.
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A Tesla driver has narrowly avoided serious injury after his car was crushed by a huge pine tree. 9News
Fortunately, the driver wasn't seriously hurt.
He was assessed by paramedics and taken to hospital for treatment.
Witness Alid Adnen told 9News he and other bystanders ran over to help the driver.
"We just ran to the car to see that he was safe and he was shocked," they said.
"It was so random, I've never seen anything like that in my life.
"The driver seemed all right but shocked of course as we all were."
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The incident happened in Brighton, in Melbourne's south-east. 9News
Experts said the tree was likely older than half a century. 9News
The incident took out power in Brighton in the 36-degree weather.
Arborist Dr Gregory Moore from the University of Melbourne School of Agriculture said the size of three meant it had likely been standing for half a century or longer.
"If the whole tree falls it's usually because of damage to the root system and that may have been done over decades," Moore said.
Bayside City Council confirmed the 15-metre pine was inspected only six months ago and experts are now investigating how the incident happened.
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