UPDATED STORY:
A driver said he was 10 seconds away from seeing a large tree fall in front of his car at Kogarah on Friday afternoon.
Ali Mourad, 25, an excavator, was driving down Montgomery Street about 2.15pm with his builder friend Mohamed Talib, 26, from Bardwell Valley when they saw a woman about to cross the road.
Mr Mourad said he beeped his car horn to alert the woman to the falling tree, but she didn’t appear to hear and kept walking. The tree hit the woman.
Mr Talib said he had a senior certificate in first aid and went to help the woman who appeared to be hyper-ventilating.
The woman, Lynne Stares, who is a St George Bank employee, was returning from lunch and crossing the road back to work when the tree fell.
She was taken to St George Hospital by ambulance and was in a stable condition on Friday afternoon. Her daughter said on Monday that she was at home with head, back and chest injuries.
The incident happened in front of people on the footpath and dining inside cafes on Montgomery Street.
The accident happened as strong gusts of wind blew into Sydney during Friday's heatwave. The tree was near sections of the footpath being repaired near cafes on Montgomery Street.
Within 45 minutes workers were on the scene cutting up branches and clearing the street. Traffic resumed soon afterwards.
A small Kogarah Council sign on the remains of the tree said the council appreciated residents may be concerned about the loss of the trees. They had been assessed and were deemed to be in good health but structurally unsound.
Workers were back at the scene at 4pm removing a nearby tree.
See more in Tuesday's Leader.
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