Boy, 4, killed by a tree in wild storm
THE family of a four-year-old boy killed in a wild storm that swept across Melbourne on Thursday night said he had gone out for a quick walk with his father and little sister when he was hit by a falling tree just metres from his Blackburn South home.
Ayan Kapoor had been outside for just a few minutes when tragedy struck on Hawthorn Road, in Melbourne’s east, at 6pm.
“He (the father) is in very bad condition, he’s in shock, he blames himself for what happened,” Ayan’s uncle said.
“His one-and-a-half year old sister was out walking with them and it happened right in front of them.”
Ayan’s aunt said the tragedy happened after the family went for a walk, just as they would on many other nights.
“They’ve just gone outside for a little walk, it was just for two minutes they went outside, and the tree just suddenly fell on him,” she said.
“The father had a little injury on his foot but he is OK … it’s just very sad news.”
Ayan was taken to Box Hill Hospital before being transferred to the Royal Children’s Hospital where he died later on Thursday night.
A woman, 36, also died when a tree fell on a ute in
Fernshaw, 75km east of Melbourne, about 6.50pm. Police said the ute was travelling along the Maroondah Highway when it was struck by a falling tree.
The Parkdale woman, who was the front passenger in the vehicle, died at the scene, while the driver, a Flinders man, 24, was taken to hospital with minor injuries. A third person, a 59-year-old Tecoma man, had his car crushed while he was leaving a shopping centre carpark at the corner of Terrys Avenue and Ena Road in Belgrave, in Melbourne’s east.
Police said the tree toppled on his car about 6pm and emergency crews worked to free him, but he was unable to be saved.
One woman was lucky to escape serious injury when a tree slammed into the ground in front of her car.
Meagan Murphy said she had “never been so scared” when the large tree crashed to the ground as she was driving along Coolart Road, near the
Myers Road intersection in Balnarring, on Mornington Peninsula.
The Bureau of Meteorology said winds of more than 100km/h were recorded in the southern parts of the state between 5pm and 6pm, peaking at 150km/h in Wilsons Promontory. Several homes were badly damaged by the storm.