By Parker McKenzie
A fallen tree at Upper Ferntree Gully Station has damaged half a dozen cars, with one completely crushed beneath its giant trunk.
Gareth Otley had just gotten off the train at around 4pm on Tuesday 22 November when he discovered what had happened from an unlikely source.
“I got a message sent through from my partner Laura about 30 minutes ago, saying is this our car?” Mr Otley said.
“I zoomed in and it looked like our car… and it was.”
A police officer at the scene said six or seven vehicles had received damage after the tree became unrooted.
Mr Otley said fortunately his car wasn’t as damaged as a white Toyota Hilux which was completely crushed by the falling tree.
“There are multiple dents all over the car on the roof, from the bottom side to everywhere but they’re quite small,” he said.
“That’s still going to amount to quite a bit of money and it’s a fair bit of damage. It’s drivable, that’s the main thing.”
A contractor at the scene said he received a call around 3pm to head to the station and remove the tree, and a crane would be required.
“We’ll get the crane down in an hour and a half, depending on traffic, and it’ll take around three hours if everything goes well,” he said.
The owner of the white Hilux hadn’t yet arrived at the station.
Mr Otley said he didn’t know when he would be able to get his car out from beneath the tree.
“There still chasing it up. It’s a bit unorganised as you can imagine these sorts of events,” he said.
“I’m just I’m not driving the Hilux there and I’m glad no one was hurt. That’s the main thing.”
