Falling tree crushes car at Belgrave near rail bridge

A young girl was left hysterical after a tree fell on her mother’s car in the Dandenongs this morning, copping the brunt of the blow. An off-duty paramedic said the nine-year-old was inches from death in the freak incident.

The crash occurred near the Monbulk Creek trestle bridge. Picture: Michael Greenhill

A young girl is “lucky to be alive” after taking the brunt of a tree that collapsed on her car driven by her mum in the Dandenong Ranges this morning.

The terrified girl, 9, was panicked as she told a first responder: “I don’t want my mum to die, I don’t want my mum to die.”

CFA units worked to free mother and daughter after the tree limb collapsed across the roof of their car on Belgrave-Gembrook Rd, close to the Puffing Billy railway trestle bridge, in Belgrave about 9am today.

Part of the roof collapsed on the pair, who had to be freed by the CFA.

Amanda, an off-duty Non-Emergency Patient Transport officer, snapped to action after seeing the crash after dropping her grandchild at school in the nearby town of Selby.

She told the Herald Sun the girl was inches from death.

“The child is extremely lucky to be alive. She was in the passenger seat as the tree came down,” she said.

“She bore the brunt of it. Her head rest took the weight of the tree. If it wasn’t there, she would have been killed.”

Firefighters work to rescue a mum and daughter from the car.

Amanda said the mother was doing her best to breathe and remain calm while trapped in the wreckage.

Adam Marshall, from Selby, was driving past on his way to work when he saw the tree snap in half and land on the car.

“I called the emergency services and went to check on the lady and heard the kid crying,” he said.

“The mother was staying strong for the kid and was in pain.”

Mr Marshall said his initial fear was that the crash could have been fatal.

“It definitely could have been worse. They’re unlucky to get hit but lucky to be alive. They wouldn’t have even known what hit them.”

The scene of the crash where the fallen tree came down on the car. Picture: Adam Marshall

Paramedics treated the girl for upper body injuries and she was flown to the Royal Children’s Hospital in a stable condition.

The mother was treated for back pain and was taken by road ambulance to The Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.

The incident happened close to where a father and son died in a similar freak tragedy last month.

Five people have been killed by falling trees across the state in just over a month.

A father, 46, and son, 10, were killed after a large gum tree collapsed on their car as they travelled toward Sherbrooke during strong winds on July 14.

Last week respected academic Associate Professor and mother of two Allison Milner, 36, was killed by a falling elm as she walked past Princes Park to work.

Angie Suryadi, a mother of two, was killed after a tree fell on her car on the Black Spur highway in Fernshaw as her family embarked on a snow trip on August 9.

Her son, 4, was left fighting for life while her other son, 5, and husband escaped serious injury.

And a 64-year-old man was crushed to death by a tree on a farm property in Yarrawalla, 233km north of Melbourne, in mid-July.