A MAN is in hospital after driving into a fallen tree blocking a main road near Orford.
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Emergency services were called to the scene on the Hamilton-Port Fairy road about 2pm on Sunday.
Port Fairy State Emergency Services unit controller Steve McDowell said the northbound driver of the vehicle freed himself from a Volkswagen station wagon, which was trapped inside the fallen pine tree.
The man, in his 80s from the Mallee region, suffered cuts, abrasions and injuries to his legs.
Paramedics took him in a stable condition to Warrnambool Base Hospital.
Mr McDowell said the road closed on Sunday afternoon and described the incident as "a very lucky escape".
He said a mixture of wet conditions and high winds likely caused the tree to fall.
"We ask drivers to slow down in these windy wet conditions and keep an eye out for debris and trees on the road," Mr McDowell said.
Port Fairy recorded wind gusts of up to 86 kilometres an hour about 2pm on Sunday, Bureau of Meteorology data showed.
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