MYSTERY surrounds the cause of a fatal crash on the Hume Highway at Springhurst in which a car spun into the path of a semi-trailer.
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The truck driver was unable to avoid the collision, which happened on a straight stretch of the road on Monday at 9.10pm.
Both the female driver, 29, and her passenger, a man aged 58, were taken to Wangaratta hospital with what appeared to be minor injuries.
However, the man died just before midnight.
The pair were from St Kilda, although it is believed the man may have not long moved to Melbourne from Sydney.
The woman was admitted to hospital for overnight observation.
It is possible that some type of incident occurred immediately before the car spun out of control and into the truck.
Police said the car then continued onto the median strip and crashed into trees.
Wangaratta’s highway patrol is looking into the incident.
Weather has been ruled out as a cause of the crash, which happened just hours after storms dumped a large amount of rain in the area.
Acting Sgt Patrick Murray said police were trying to work out the exact reason the car spun around, given there was no water across the roadway.
“We can’t comment on any other factors, whether it’s fatigue or driver distraction,” he said.
The car has been impounded and would be kept in a police lockup for examination.
Sgt Murray said the driver was helping police with the investigation.
Despite the crash happening at night, police believe other motorists might have seen something that could help work out what happened.
“We’d appeal to any witnesses who saw anything suspicious to give us a call,” he said.
Anyone with information can contact the highway patrol directly on (03) 5723 0839.
The driver of the truck was not injured.
The man’s death was one of several on Border roads recently.
Ulladulla truck driver Phil Riddell died in a crash with another truck on the Hume Freeway near Woomargama on September 26.
Two days later, Wangaratta teenager Ty Robinson, 19, died when his Toyota LandCruiser left the Beechworth-Wodonga Road and hit a tree.
On October 10, Andrew Pithers, 24, died when his motorbike ran into a car in Thurgoona.
Albury man Phillip Cusack, 42, died when his car rolled on the Chiltern-Barnawartha Road near Chiltern on October 30.