Winchester man survives near death experience after tree smashes car

These are the words of a Winchester man who had a lucky escape after a tree fell onto his car in Romsey Road, after Storm Henk swept through the area.

The road, between Chilbolton Avenue and Sleeper's Hill, was closed for several hours after the tree fell across it on Tuesday, January 2. 

It struck the back of Aaron 'Skip' Bartlett's Honda Accord, narrowly missing him, and incredibly leaving him unhurt. 

This has given Aaron, of Maytree Close, Badger Farm, a new lease of life after a difficult last few months. 

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A lucky escape for Aaron 'Skip' Bartlett 😲 #StormHenk #Winchester #tree #car #storm

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The 31-year-old actor, filmmaker and musician said: "I was driving home from the gym after contemplating not going as I have had a rough few months, came out of relationship, lost my job and have been feeling quite low recently.

"However it's a new year and a new me so I decided to go to the gym and push through. I even drove a different way home than I normally would, so I felt all these reasons led to me being in that precise spot at that time.

"It's funny because I had joked with my mates for a while now that maybe I needed to experience a near death experience to help me get the kick I needed to appreciate life and get back on track, and it only went and happened."

READ MORE: Storm Henk: Winchester road cleared after fallen tree

He continued: "As I was driving up Romsey Road and all of a sudden it seemed like it started to rain tree branches and twigs.

"Before I even had a chance to look up and realise what was going on, the biggest thud and sound came from behind as the huge tree came crashing down on the roof of the car which then slid down the back window smashing it and crushing the boot. This was in my 2005 Honda Accord which I bought from my mate about six months ago.

"I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to have survived that accident, not even a second difference and I would have been dead."

To clear the road was a community effort, with one man using a chainsaw to help remove the massive tree. 

Aaron said: "Many people were helping us move the logs and try to clean up the road. I was very impressed and happy with how many people helped, it's given me a lot of faith in humanity and how nice strangers can be."

After the near-death experience, Aaron says his only concern was his Marshall bass amp which was in the boot. 

He said: "Once I got home without a single mark or scrape on me, my mates Rumm and Peter helped me get the amp out of the car to which we had to bend the metal of the boot up to get it out. Pete actually ended up cutting himself."

"I'm very lucky to be alive and can now attend my future gigs with my band Hornblower Down at The Heartbreakers in Southampton on January 20 and The Railway Inn on February 10.

"Nothing in life can bring me down now, not now I have cheated death. The amount of people who have said I need to go and buy a lottery ticket is hilarious, so I'm off to buy a lottery ticket to win the lottery next."