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11 months ago
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Terrifying footage has captured the moment a driver dodged death when lightning struck a tree next to his parked car, sending huge branches crashing down onto it.
The shocking incident happened on a street in Mudgee, in central NSW, around 270km north-west of Sydney.
Dashcam footage of the incident was captured by another vehicle parked nearby and uploaded to Instagram by the lucky driver, known only as Simon, on Thursday.
The shocking clip showed the moment the red 2009 Hyundai Getz, which appears orange in the video, was hit by the massive tree branches.
The giant logs fell on top of the car, parked near the kerb close to the tree, when it suddenly exploded in a shower of wood and leaves as the lightning struck.
Branches could be seen scattered all over the top of the car and the bark of the tree trunk was thrown across the road as the tree shattered into a thousand pieces.
Just moments earlier Simon who was wearing a grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans at the time was seen rushing to his car and opening the two doors on the right side of the vehicle.
He then loaded several boxes onto the back seat before he closed the door and rushed off, leaving the front passenger door open.
Seconds later a loud bang rang out before the tree suddenly shattered and the vehicle buckled under the crushing weight of the falling branches.
The car was smashed by the tree branches (pictured) after the tree was hit by a lightning strike
just moments earlier, Simon (pictured right) was seen unloading some boxes into the car before he rushed off in what turned out to be a lucky escape
A few moments later Simon was seen walking back to his car and appeared shocked by the scale of the destruction he suddenly encountered.
He later posted the video of his near brush with death on social media with a caption saying he would now be getting himself a lottery ticket after his lucky escape.
'I'm off to buy a lotto ticket', he wrote.
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