‘Freak accident’: Man killed by fallen tree branch
A man was killed overnight after his car was struck by a falling tree branch as he tried to flee a violent storm.
A man has died while his wife and teenage son were rushed to hospital after their car was struck by a falling tree branch during a violent storm.
The 45-year-old father was with his family at a campground in Loop Track, Yarrawonga, in Victoria when emergency crews were called at about 7pm on Tuesday following reports a tree branch had fallen onto a moving car.
The local family were trying to flee the campsite as wild weather swept across the state.
The father, who was driving the car at the time of the incident, died at the scene, and his teenage son and wife were able to escape from the vehicle.
They were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and remain in hospital.
Wangaratta Highway Patrol Sergeant, Shaun Hillier, said the family were simply trying to leave the area when a severe storm struck causing a number of branches to fall from trees and “unfortunately one of those collided with the vehicle”.
“I believe the other route was blocked by a tree which is why they’ve decided to go down that route and unfortunately that is when the incident has occurred,” Mr Hillier told reporters.
“Freak accidents happen, and unfortunately, that’s what this is.
“It’s a tragic accident. We offer our condolences to the family and we will be supporting them in any way we can.”
Mr Hillier said police warned campers in the area after the fatal accident of the risks of remaining, the ABC reported.
“After the first [storm] there was a second front of the storm that was going through the area, so SES advised us similar hazards were going to occur in that area,” he said.
“So following their advice we simply passed on that information to the other campers and left it up to them to decide if they wanted to evacuate or stay in the area.”
Investigations into the exact cause of the incident are ongoing. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Wild weather in Victoria
The Bureau of Meteorology issued several severe thunderstorm alerts on Wednesday afternoon, warning of damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding around much of Port Phillip Bay, including Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula.
The severe storms drenched parts of Melbourne as they travelled south-east across the city, dumping as much as 40 millimetres of rain in half an hour in some suburbs, The Age reported.
The wild weather also lashed parts of South Australia and south-western New South Wales yesterday, and severe storms are forecast for large parts of NSW and Queensland from this afternoon, reports Weatherzone.
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