The 76-year-old man died about 11am when his 1998 Ford Falcon ute hit a tree beside the Pyrenees Highway near Chadwick Track at Moonlight Flat, about 10km west of Maryborough.

Maryborough police said they had no idea what had caused the crash.

After ruling out speed or alcohol, they’re still investigating what went wrong.

Sergeant Paul Martin said the driver was heading west on the highway when he veered off the road into a gum tree.

“There’s no suggestion that the car was out of control or speed and alcohol were involved,” he said.

“He’s collided head-on with the tree.

“Looking at it, it was quite a high-impact collision.”

Sergeant Martin said the driver was dead when police arrived at the accident scene.

“Our inquires are continuing into the cause,” he said.

“What we do know is the vehicle left the road and travelled about 70 to 80 metres before it hit the tree.”

Sergeant Martin said when emergency crews first arrived, they were concerned that a gas tank on the ute could explode.

But CFA members had brought the situation under control.

Maryborough SES incident controller Stephen Moyle said the jaws of life were used to cut the man free.

“They were used to remove the door and push the dashboard forward,” he said.

Ten SES members went to the accident, as did police units from Maryborough, Avoca and Dunolly and CFA crews from Maryborough and Wareek/Bung Bong.

Sergeant Martin said that Maryborough police were first told of the accident at 11.15am.

He asked any witnesses who saw the circumstances leading to the accident or to the crash itself to phone Maryborough police on 5460 3300.

The accident took the number of people killed on Victorian roads this year to 34, compared to 31 at the same time last year.