Leading Senior Constable Bill Edwards said the search for the man could potentially "take days or weeks".

He said officers had some of his belongings in their possession and would hold off on releasing a description of the person for now.

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"We want to give him the chance to hand himself in," he said.

Power has since been restored across properties in the city.

Anyone with information or dash cam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online at crimestoppersvic.com.au

UPDATE, 11.05AM: ROUGHLY 2500 Powercor customers have no power in and around Bendigo.

The power loss has coincided with a car crash in Kangaroo Flat. Powercor is still investigating their cause and has not confirmed whether the outages are connected to the crash.

A total of 2326 Kangaroo Flat homes and businesses are affected, along with more than 100 others in Golden Square and Big Hill.

More customers are affected in Lockwood, Lockwood South, Mandurang South, Ravenswood, Marong and Shelbourne.

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The 300 premises without power in Huntly are not included in that tally. There, Powercor shut off supply for planned works.

Police are investigating the Kangaroo Flat crash.

Southbound lanes remain closed on High Street, around the scene.

UPDATE 10.25AM: EMERGENCY crews expect southbound lanes to stay closed for hours after a crash on High Street.

They have reopened northbound lanes but motorists should remain cautious if moving through the area near the APCO service station.

Police officers began a manhunt after the driver of a black station-wagon involved in the crash fled.

"We know who he is and we are searching for him at the moment," Leading Senior Constable Bill Edwards said.

Police are investigating whether the black car was speeding at the time of the crash.

UPDATE 10.08AM: POLICE are scouring Kangaroo Flat for a man aged in his 20s who allegedly fled the scene of a high speed crash.

Officers believe the man was in a black station wagon-type vehicle that crashed into the back of a white ute while merging lanes on High Street.

They have not yet released a description of the man but are actively searching for him, the Advertiser understands.

The ute spun across the road and ended up in a creek bed, police say.

A man in his 70s was in the ute at the time and is now being assessed by paramedics.

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He is not thought to have serious injuries at this stage, police say.

High Street is now closed in both directions and large amounts of traffic is being diverted down other roads.

"It's created bedlam," one officer at the scene said.

One of the cars struck a power pole and appears to have knocked out electricity.

Powercor officers have arrived on the scene to inspect the damage.

EARLIER: Parts of High Street, Kangaroo Flat are blocked off and police are directing traffic after a crash.

Police are diverting traffic bound for Kangaroo Flat at the APCO service station and have blocked off the road towards Bendigo.

Multiple crews are at the scene near the corner of Wireless Street and High Street, close to the APCO service station.

IN THE NEWS

At least two vehicles are thought to have been involved in the crash.

Power lines are down in the area. Some homes in the area are thought to have lost power but it is too early to confirm whether that is related to the crash.

Powercor says it is investigating and currently expects to restore power by 12.30pm.

More to come.

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