A couple have been left shaken after a near 30-metre tall tree came crashing down on their car as they were driving down a Mt Eden street in Auckland this morning.
Spencer Macintyre, 30, described hearing a loud crack as he was driving down Grange Rd and could see the tree was about to fall on them.
"I slammed on my brakes and quickly reversed back. The trunk hit the bonnet of the car but if it was a second earlier it would have gone straight through our roof."
"We are pretty shaken up by it."
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Advertise with NZME.Jo Hal, a Mt Eden resident who was on her morning walk when she saw the fallen tree, said it was just a matter of time before an incident like this happened.
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"It could have killed someone, it's really scary ... it is so lucky no one died," Hal said.
She said many of the trees in the area were overgrown and were dangerous to traffic, and Auckland Council had done nothing about it.
"One of my neighbours had tried to trim one of the trees and was fined $300 for it."
Emergency services were called to the scene at 8.55am today.
A police spokeswoman said Fire and Emergency had contacted Auckland Council about the incident and were working to remove it.
Auckland Council head of area operations Julie Pickering said they were sorry to learn of the incident and relieved no one was hurt.
"Council contractors attended the incident this morning where it was confirmed a branch had fallen from a large Melia tree.
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Advertise with NZME."Contractors have since removed the fallen branch and carried out a safety inspection of the tree. The road and footpath have also been cleared.
"Council arborists will be back onsite tomorrow to investigate the cause of the incident and inspect all trees on the street."