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Driver escapes death as branch from burning tree smashes into car windscreen

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The driver of this vehicle was travelling next to a burning timber plantation when a branch fell from a tree and broke through the windscreen.

On Sunday, a driver almost saw the heavens in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands after a branch of tree fell and burrowed through his windscreen.

The said man escaped death and only sustained minor injuries when a branch dropped from a tree on fire and smashed through his car’s windscreen on the R103, on the outskirts of Gowrie Village.


Charles Newborn, St. Michael’s Ambulance Service operation manager said surrounding witnesses drew the attention of paramedics to the incident close to Nottingham Road around 4pm.

On arrival, a single vehicle was found at the scene with a tree branch which had penetrated the front windscreen. According to the driver, who was the only occupant, he was driving next to a timber plantation which was on fire. A strong wind was blowing when a branch fell from a burning tree and went through his windscreen. The branch became wedge in the console of the car, between the driver and passenger seats,” Newborn said.

However, the driver refused to be transported to the hospital for further treatment.

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