PICTURED: Irish nurse, 26, killed when a massive gum tree fell on the back of the Uber she was travelling in with friends on a night out
- A woman has died after a gum tree branch fell on a car she was travelling in
- The car was hit on Kings Way, South Melbourne, at 8.50pm on Friday night
- Mary Ellen Molloy, 26, passed away after being rushed to hospital
- Ms Molloy is from Ireland and was worknig as a nurse and travelling in Australia
- Another back seat female passenger is being treated for head and back injuries
- The male driver and female front passenger were assessed but not injured
A young woman who tragically died after a tree branch fell on the car she was riding in is a 26-year-old Irish nurse who was on a night out with friends.
Mary Ellen Molloy was sitting in the back of an Uber travelling along Kings Way in Melbourne on Friday night when the large gum tree branch fell on the vehicle at 8.50pm.
She had been in the car with two female colleagues who escaped serious injury along with the driver.
Mary Ellen Molloy was sitting in the back of an Uber travelling along Kings Way in Melbourne on Friday night when the large gum tree branch fell on the vehicle at 8.50pm
Ms Molloy, from Ireland, had been working as a nurse and travelling in Australia
Ms Molloy is from the small Irish town of Ardara in Donegal County and had been in Australia working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
‘We send our deepest sympathies to the nurse’s family and friends, who are grieving over this heartbreaking loss,’ the hospital said in a statement.
‘She was an outgoing, bubbly person. She wasn’t shy in any way,’ a friend told the Sunday Herald Sun.
Witness Christian Pansino said the large branch fell ‘straight onto the car’ and that it was ‘random, it wasn’t windy or anything’.
Ms Molloy was heavily involved in Melbourne’s Irish community and played Gaelic football.
Friends said she had been making the most of her time in Australia, travelling and visiting tourist landmarks.
Her parents, Terrence and Angela Molloy, who run the Blue Haven Country Hotel in Ireland have been informed of the tragedy.
Ms Molloy’s colleague, a woman in her 20s, in the back seat of the car was rushed to Royal Melbourne Hospital with head and back injuries and is stable.
Her other colleague in the front seat, a 25-year-old woman, and the driver, a 38-year-old man, were not injured.
The car that Ms Molloy was riding in when the tree branch fell on Friday night
The tragic accident occurred at 8.50pm on Kings Way, South Melbourne
Victoria Police spokesman Leading Sen-Constable Rohan Imms said: ‘Police will prepare a report for the coroner following the death of a woman in South Melbourne Friday night.’
Several people have been tragically killed this year by falling tree branches.
Mother-of-two Angie Suryadi was killed when a tree fell on her car on the Black Spur highway in Fernshaw, Victoria, on August 9.
A father and son were tragically killed after a gum tree struck their car during strong winds at Sherbrooke, on July 14.
The Transport Department manages the land where the tree sits and was working with police to investigate the factors that lead to the incident.
Port Phillip Council mayor Bernadene Voss said she was ‘shocked and saddened’ at what had occurred.
Ms Molloy was heavily involved in Melbourne’s Irish community and played Gaelic football