Laurie was returning home from a shift at Stawell Gold Mine that finished at 6.10pm when he crashed about 30 minutes later.

Ararat Leading Senior Constable Shaun Allen is preparing a report for the coroner, with assistance from Horsham police.

He said speed and possibly fatigue contributed to the accident.

Horsham Sergeant Michael Salter said the accident was horrific.

"Preliminary investigations indicate speed was a cause of the accident, excessive speed," Sergeant Salter said.

"In 29 years of policing I have never seen a car disintegrate to the point this one has."

The car, a grey Nissan Coupe, was travelling from Stawell to Horsham when it veered to the right hand side of the road and hit a large tree, causing the vehicle to split in two.

The car's front section travelled further west, towards Horsham, landing about 30 metres from where the vehicle hit the tree.

The front section caught fire and hit a second tree.

Sergeant Salter said police were investigating the vehicle's speed using yaw marks, tyre marks on the Western Highway.

He said police blocked the Western Highway on Thursday night, to preserve yaw marks for accident investigation.

Police diverted traffic through Murtoa and Glenorchy.

"The disintegration of this vehicle brings home the reality of speed," Sergeant Salter said.

• Police are discussing the crash with WorkSafe. A spokesman from WorkSafe did not return a call from the Mail-Times on Friday.