Tree falls on moving car at Stirling, killing a 59-year-old woman behind the wheel

A driver was killed by a tree fall in Stirling last night. The first person to arrive attempted to comfort the victim and call for help.

A woman who died after a huge tree branch fell on her moving car at Stirling spent her last moments alive being comforted by a heroic passer-by.

The woman, 59, of Crafers, was driving a white Toyota west on Mount Barker Road, near Gould Road, when the branch fell on top of her car just before 10.30pm.

Just two minutes after the freak incident, Emma Clifton, 22, and her friend, happened to drive past.

Emma Clifton was first to respond to the crash, comforting the victim and calling for help. Picture: Facebook

Her friend, who was driving, pulled over and Ms Clifton instinctively rushed over to the wreckage, where the 59-year-old victim was trapped by an eastern cottonwood tree.

“I just ran down to the car and talked to the woman and I comforted her,” she told The Advertiser.

“I was just letting her know that people were on their way and she was going to be OK … I told her that I would do anything I can to help.”

Ms Clifton, a childcare worker trained in First Aid, said she “tried (her) absolute best” to help the dying woman.

“She was not really replying … she was mumbling and stuff like that, so I was just trying to focus on telling her that she was going to be OK and that we were going to her out.

“I wanted to reach my hand into the car and hold her hand, but I just could not risk hurting her … I just wanted to hold her hand.”

After comforting the woman, she then “ran down the street” to get more people to help.

The fallen tree branch had caused power lines to fall.

In the Toyota’s passenger seat was a 26-year-old Aldgate woman who was treated in hospital for non life-threatening injuries.

The branch also hit a second car – and the driver, a 56-year-old woman, also of Aldgate, was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

A woman has been killed in a freak accident when a huge limb of tree snapped and crushed her car at Stirling. Three of her passengers survived, one has been taken to hospital with non life threatening injuries. Picture: Harvey Biggs/Nine News Adelaide

After returning home when emergency services took over, Ms Clifton found out the woman had died and she shed “a couple of tears”.

“I just had a feeling that was going to happen, because of the extent of how bad it was. It was very traumatising.”

The incident, which happened just opposite Stirling Woodyard, sparked debate on how local governments dealt with large trees near roads.

Woodyard owner Harry Papageorge believed the branch was rotten and hollowed out.

“One of our guys said that the tree was quite rotted (and) it’s hollow inside … and with the winds that we had here obviously that’s triggered what’s happened,” he said.

“I believe there are trees all over the place that need to be looked at.”

“Trees are always coming down around here, especially with winds, but it’s just something that I think needs to be addressed pretty quickly.”

Workers at the scene of the crash on Thursday. Picture: Mike Burton

Mount Barker Road resident George Bryant said the incident was very sad and that trees lost branches or fell regularly in the area.

“It’s not that rare – trees are always falling down at Aldgate and they closed the road a few times recently,” he said.

Adelaide Hills Council acting mayor Nathan Daniell said he understood concerns, but assured the community the council has a “strong focus and commitment to proactive tree management”.

Mr Daniell would not comment on whether arborists had or would conduct pruning of trees ahead of the storm and bushfire season, commencing December 1.

The fallen tree branch came off a tree located on a private property.

The massive branch fell on the woman’s car as she passed the well-known Stirling Woodyard. Picture: Mike Burton

According to the Adelaide Hills Council’s Tree Management policy, council staff are not required to “inspect and assess the risks posed by (trees) on a regular basis”.

Local arborist Michael Palamountain said the chances of being crushed by a tree were one in five million – similar to the chances of a shark attack.

“Sometimes things go wrong and sometimes people do get injured or killed by trees, but that is in the order of one in five million – and that’s fairly consistent around the world,” he said.

Mr Palamountain said poplar cottonwood trees were “generally less able to resist internal decay” when compared with other species.

“Sometimes pruning can make things worse, if the tree was poorly pruned that may increase the likelihood of something failing.”

Heavy winds across the Hills were believed to have caused the branch, already in poor condition, to come crashing down.

The SES responded to multiple reports fallen tree branches across Adelaide’s southern suburbs and Hills areas, such as Hahndorf, Mount Barker and Aldgate.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Mark Anolak said: “There were certainly very fresh and gusty winds (on Wednesday night) affecting many people”.

“Winds of the order of 60 to 70 km/h were recorded across the Adelaide Hills.”

In January 2010, a seven-metre Grey Box gum tree limb fell from the side of Greenhill Road and killed 20-year-old Rebecca Jolly inside her car.

-With Lydia Kellner

A large tree fall across Nairne Road at Woodside on Thursday morning as well. Picture: Lydia Kellner.

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Originally published as Tree falls on moving car at Stirling, killing a 59-year-old woman behind the wheel