Worthing driver’s lucky escape after tree falls
Robert Hurst had a lucky escape when a tree fell in South Farm Road W0250h12
A DRIVER said he felt “extremely lucky” despite a tree having just fallen on top of his car.
Robert Hurst escaped the incident unhurt, but said had the large tree fallen just a couple of seconds later it could have been a very different story.
The 61-year-old was driving north on South Farm Road, Worthing, when the freak accident happened at around 7.55am on Thursday morning.
He said: “I was just driving up the road on my way to work in Goring, having just dropped my wife at the station, and the tree came down from somebody’s garden at the junction with Bulkington Avenue.
“I saw something moving out the corner of my eye, and thought ‘what’s happening?’ and then it just came down in front of me.
“I got away lightly as another couple of seconds and it could have been very different. It’s definitely a lucky escape and I feel very lucky.”
Robert, of Sheridan Road, said it was mainly the tree’s branches, rather than its trunk, that had struck his car, which is why he thinks he was unhurt. He said that, fortunately, his car had also escaped major damage, too.
He added: “It made a noise when it fell, but it wasn’t extremely loud. I never felt in danger – it just all seemed to be happening in front of me, fortunately.”
The fallen tree caused South Farm Road to be closed at the junction with Bulkington Avenue for around an hour while a West Sussex County Council road maintenance team cleared it away.
Robert praised their fast work, and that of the police who were on the scene, saying he was surprised at how quickly they got everything cleared-up and the road opened again.
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Weather for Worthing
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South

