Schoolies describe terrifying moment tree crashes through car windscreen, piercing head rest

A group of friends celebrating Schoolies in Queensland have spoken for the first time since a tree plunged through their windscreen, narrowly missing one of them as it pierced through the head rest.

The friends were driving through bushland on K’gari, an island off the coast of Queensland formerly known as Fraser Island, earlier this week when a tree came crashing down on their car.

Speaking to the Today show from the driveway of their Ipswich accommodation, the smashed-up wreck of their car parked behind them, they described the terrifying moment the tree plunged into the car’s windscreen.

“Well, it was like, we were barely going 30km/h, but the road was just terrible for the car,” Dan said.

“Then the tree just came out of nowhere … I only saw it in the last second.”

Mackenzie was sitting behind the driver’s side of the car and watched on as Dan, sitting in the front seat, ducked down to escape the flying tree.

“I managed to see it all unfold. I watched Dan duck from the tree … I don’t even know or want to imagine what could have happened,” she said.

“I’ve got the greatest reflexes ever,” Dan said through laughter.

“It was intense. I don’t know what to tell you, I just saw it come through the hole of the seat’s head.

“I was like, ‘Whoa, there’s a tree right there!’ It is hard to believe.”

Mackenzie said the tree pierced through the head rest and into the seat behind, with a sharp point aimed at the back-seat passengers.

“It went straight through the middle of the head rest. I don’t know what aim managed to get it through the hole, but it went through.”

When the Today hosts asked how their parents reacted to the shocking incident, they said they were “horrified”.

“Well, they’re in disbelief, then shock,” they said.

“They didn’t want to see the photos then after they found out we were OK, they looked at the photos we sent through and were, I guess for a better word, horrified.”