Mind-blowing moment Mudgee driver cheated death when a lightning strike exploded the tree beside his Hyundai Getz: ‘Off to buy a lottery ticket!’

Horrific footage shows the moment a driver escaped death when lightning struck a tree next to his parked car, sending huge branches crashing down on it.

The shocking incident took place on a street in Mudgee, in central New South Wales, about 270km north-west of Sydney.

Dashcam footage of the incident was captured by another car parked nearby and uploaded to Instagram by the happy driver, known only as Simon, on Thursday.

The shocking video shows the moment a red 2009 Hyundai Getz, which appears orange in the video, hit massive tree branches.

Giant logs fell onto a car parked on the side of the road next to a tree when it suddenly exploded in a shower of wood and leaves from a lightning strike.

Branches were scattered all over the roof of the car and the bark of a tree trunk was thrown across the road as the tree shattered into a thousand pieces.

A few minutes earlier, Simon, who was wearing a gray T-shirt and jeans at the time, was seen rushing to his car and opening two doors on the right side of the car.

He then loaded several boxes into the back seat, closed the door and sped away, leaving the front passenger door open.

A few seconds later there was a loud bang before the tree suddenly broke and the car buckled under the crushing weight of falling branches.

The car was smashed by tree branches (pictured) after lightning struck the tree

just minutes earlier, Simon (pictured right) was seen unloading several boxes into a car before he sped off in what turned out to be a successful escape.

Moments later, Simon was seen walking back to his car and appeared shocked at the scale of destruction he was suddenly faced with.

He later posted a video of his near-death experience on social media, with a caption saying he would now receive a lottery ticket after his lucky escape.

“I’m going to buy a lottery ticket,” he wrote.