A man has died and two more were taken to hospital after a horror two-car crash on Coolamon Road early Tuesday morning.
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Police confirmed two vehicles collided on the road near Downside, around 15 kilometres north of Wagga between the Olympic Highway and Downside Village Road, just before 5am.
Tragically, a man was thrown about 20 metres from his Ford hatchback and killed when it collided with an oncoming ute "at high speed", NSW Ambulance inspector Eamonn Purcell said.
"The initial report was a two-car road traffic collision about six kilometres towards Coolamon from the CSU roundabout," he said.
Police said the man, believed to be aged in his 40s, was the sole occupant of the Ford Focus.
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Two men - a 61-year-old driver and his 26-year-old passenger - managed to free themselves from the wreck of their Mazda Bravo and were treated at the scene before being taken to Wagga Base Hospital.
"The two males in the ute were trapped briefly before managing to get out - the ute was on its side - (and had) minor injuries and limb injuries," Inspector Purcell said.
"There was a male of unknown age ejected from the Ford (and) suffered major trauma, major injuries, and was deceased."
Inspector Purcell said the scene was confronting for all involved.
"Paramedics are trained and well experienced in going to traumatic scenes, but it was a confronting scene for all emergency services," he said.
"In the dark, there was major vehicle damage and it was quite obvious that the vehicles were travelling at high speed."
The two men who escaped with only minor injuries could have ended up much worse off, according to Inspector Purcell.
"It is a testament to technology and the design of cars these days that the injuries we're seeing in these types of incidents are quite less severe than we used to," he said.
"[The two men] are very lucky that more serious injuries didn't occur because it was quite obvious from the vehicles that it was at high speed."
Three ambulance crews from Wagga and one from Coolamon were joined by a NSW Ambulance team at the site, Inspector Purcell said.
Emergency services remain at the scene, just south of a bridge, as a crash investigation unit descends on the site.
A crime scene has been established and specialist police examined the scene today as an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash got under way. Police will then prepare a report for the coroner.
Riverina Police District Sergeant Steven Bloomfield said the cause of the accident remains unknown during the early stages of the investigation.
"Often motor vehicle accidents on regional roads can involve relatively high speeds," he said.
"Investigators look at all those things, road worthiness of vehicles involved and other causes potentially involved.
"One car was found on each side of the road but that doesn't mean anything to us at this stage of the investigation."
Coolamon Road reopened soon after 2pm.
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