KITTY Wood almost didn’t make it home to Somers last week after a large pine tree came crashing down just metres from her car’s front bumper.
The alert woman, in her 80s, thanks her lucky stars that she saw the mature tree moving ominously in strong winds in Coolart Road, south of Hodgins Road, and braked hard while watching it fall heavily across the road.
“It was beginning to come down when I saw it,” Ms Wood said, recounting the shock she felt when it landed a mere car’s length in front of her – and possible injury or worse.
“Images flashed through my mind of the poor fellow crushed in his car by a tree in the country the other day,” she said.
“The woman in the car behind me pulled up and said she couldn’t believe how lucky I was. She said I should take a Tatts ticket.
“I think I’ve used up all my luck.”
Strong winds played havoc with trees on the Mornington Peninsula last week, with gusts up to 100kph causing many to fall and keeping SES crews busy.
Ms Wood said she turned around and drove back to Hodgins Road for phone reception and called police to warn of the danger.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 21 August 2018