FOUR people have been killed and a man is in a critical condition after a horrific crash involving two cars and a truck just east of Bathurst in the state's central-west.
The fatal series of events was believed to have begun when a blue Toyota Camry veered on the wrong side of the Great Western Highway while travelling west, at 1.40pm on Saturday.
It crossed in front of Mitsubishi Triton, travelling in the opposite direction, which was followed by a semi-trailer.
Police said the driver of the semi-trailer attempted to avoid a collision but ran into the back of the Triton and pushed both cars down the road before ending up in a paddock.
The two women and one man inside the Camry, all believed to be aged in their 70s, died at the scene, along with a middle aged passenger in the Triton.
The driver of the Mitsubishi, a 38-year-old man, remained trapped in the wreckage for two hours before being freed by rescue crews.
He was air lifted to Sydney's Westmead Hospital where he was last night in a critical condition with serious head injuries.
The truck driver escaped serious injury but was taken to Bathurst Base Hospital to be treated for shock.
Inspector Mark Wall said crash investigators would now determine what caused the Camry to cross onto the wrong side of the highway.
"At this stage, investigations are continuing ... but it does not appear road or weather conditions have been factors,” Inspector Wall said.
The crash closed the highway in both directions between Bathurst and neighbouring Lithgow with motorists told to completely avoid the area. There was no indication last night of when it would reopen.
Cars that still needed to travel between Bathurst and Lithgow were diverted onto the Castlereagh Highway which can add up to two hours to the journey. Trucks and other heavy vehicles were being diverted via Mudgee, Wellington and Orange, which added four hours of travel time.
Before yesterday 339 people had died on NSW roads in 2012, 23 more than the 316 killed by the same time last year.
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