A 75-year-old Rochford woman was killed and a passenger injured when a 30-metre-tall gum tree fell onto their car in Newham.
The couple was travelling on South Rock Road last Thursday afternoon when the tree fell.
The male passenger was able to climb from the car and was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.
Emergency services, including the SES and local fire brigades, were quickly on the scene using chainsaws to remove the huge tree, which was tightly wedged across the road pinning the car underneath.
Leading Senior Constable Brian Smith of the Macedon Ranges Highway Patrol said it could only be described a tragic accident.
“We can’t police these incidents, because of the weather and the rains we’ve had, the tree just uprooted and came crashing down,” he said.
“Every road in the Macedon Ranges has got a row of trees like that, it could have happened anywhere, anytime.”
LSC Smith said a branch had fallen onto the road moments before the accident, and the car had moved to avoid it when the whole tree came down.
A driver in another vehicle travelling behind the victim witnessed the incident.
The road was closed until the following morning with VicRoads calling in arborists to assess surrounding trees.
The road around the picturesque Hanging Rock is a popular tourist drive and is lined with large trees, many battered by recent rains and high winds.
