Tree branch falls on car in Buderim, drivers asked to avoid area

A Sunshine Coast Council investigation is under way after a young nurse’s car was flattened by a falling tree branch while he was still inside.

The scene of a tree branch accident on Cogill Rd, Buderim. The driver, a man, escaped unharmed. Photo: Craig Allingham

The Sunshine Coast Council is investigating after a large tree branch flattened a young nurse’s car while he was still inside.

Cogill Road at Buderim was closed on Monday afternoon after a large tree branch flattened the passing car, driven by a young male nurse coming home after a shift who was lucky to escape unharmed.

Witness and Buderim resident Craig Allingham said he heard the tree “cracking away” as he worked in his office at his Cogill Rd home, before the horrifying sound of a large branch falling and crushing a car underneath it.

The sound of the tree breaking was an “all too familiar noise”, he said, but the young man was “very fortunate” and “literally centimetres from being crushed”.

The scene of a tree branch accident on Cogill Rd, Buderim. The driver, a man, escaped unharmed. Photo: supplied

A Sunshine Coast Council spokeswoman said they were investigating the matter but it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage.

It comes after the Sunshine Coast Daily obtained a report via Right to Information request which shed light on Sunshine Coast Council’s tree risk management processes. Council denied there was any issues with their process.

Mr Allingham said the sound of the tree breaking was an “all too familiar noise” and the same tree had caused a power outage earlier this year when one of its branches fell onto power lines.

He said he had reached out to the council about the tree numerous times over the years via their website, with at least two in regard the branches hanging over the road.

“(Other times) it related to the volume of leaves dropped from these trees that block the drains and cause flooding across the road into our property,” he said.

“These huge old boughs are a constant hazard and falling is simply a matter of when not if.

“Drivers and pedestrians are frequently passing below.”

Emergency services were called to the scene about 3pm. A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said the driver was not assessed and was not taken to hospital.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said police were directing traffic at the scene and the Sunshine Coast Council had been called to assist.