A woman is dead and a man has suffered minor injuries following a head-on collision between a car and a B-double on Tuesday morning.
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Emergency crews were called to the scene about 20 kilometres west of Bathurst on the Mitchell Highway around 9am.
Paramedics did all they could to try and save the driver of the silver Honda Civic, but she suffered critical injuries and died at the scene.
A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance said they received a Triple-0 call just after 9.05am with a report of a head-on collision between a car and a truck on the Mitchell Highway at Vittoria.
Emergency services were told one woman was trapped in the wreckage and police rescue were among the resources deployed to the site.
However, the driver of the Civic – a 49-year-old woman – died at the scene.
The driver of the B-double, a 43-year-old male, suffered minor injuries with pain in his lower limbs.
He was transported via road ambulance to Orange Base Hospital where he remains in a stable condition. The driver has undergone mandatory blood and urine testing.
Police investigating the fatality said the driver of the sedan, who was travelling west, appears to have crossed into the east-bound lane.
The driver of the B-double, who was travelling east, took evasive action by braking and swerving to the left to try and avoid a collision. However, the sedan collided with the front of the prime mover.
Police said the driver of the B-double was lucky not have sustained serious injury as his truck hit a number of trees and ended up off the road in a paddock as he tried to avoid the collision.
Crash investigators remained at the scene late Tuesday piecing together the final moments of both vehicles before the tragedy with the highway remaining closed until well into the afternoon.
Traffic to Orange was diverted via Millthorpe until the highway reopened at around 3pm.
As the victim’s relatives were still being informed of the tragedy, and formal identification is yet to take place, the victim’s identity has not been released by police at this stage.
A spokesperson for Chifley Local Area Command urged anyone who may have witnessed the accident who has not yet spoken to officers to contact Bathurst police on 63328699 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Tuesday’s fatality was just metres from where 53-year-old Kerri Parkes died in a head-on collision almost 12 months ago to the day.
On August 7, 2016, two Commodores collided and Mrs Parkes, who was a school teacher in Orange, died instantly.
Three others were also injured in the crash.
