A driver could have been killed by a large tree that crashed to the ground in Dunedin’s Town Belt, firefighters say.
The tree was "very old" and had likely rotted from the inside, he said.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) responded to the incident in Maori Rd about 2pm yesterday, after the large tree broke in the wind.
The entrance to the road, which runs beside Jubilee Park, is blocked off.
Fenz Dunedin Station Officer Talea Uluakiola said it was close for a woman who had just driven past the tree.
"She could have been killed; she was very lucky to miss that tree," SO Uluakiola said.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand staff investigate the base of a fallen tree in Maori Rd yesterday. Photo: Gregor Richardson
Fenz had informed the Dunedin City Council about the situation, and council contractors were due to help remove the tree’s remains.
A council spokesman said Maori Rd was closed overnight and would be closed today as contractors cleared the road.
"We will be investigating the cause," he said.
