NSW Police investigate Snowy Mountains Highway, Talbingo crash

The man was trapped in hour car for more than an hour, and now the Australian Workers Union claims the Future Generation Joint Venture places deadlines ahead of personnel welfare.

But, the company has responded saying safety is their "number one priority".

About 7.45pm on Saturday, police were called to the Snowy Mountains Highway at Talbingo.

A spokesperson said officers have been told a white Toyota Hilux utility, travelling in a northerly direction, collided with a white Hinto tow truck carrying a trailer.

"The 59-year-old male utility driver was trapped in his vehicle for over an hour, before being freed by emergency services," they said.

"He was taken to Canberra Hospital in a critical condition with a severed right arm at the shoulder, deep lacerations to the head and suspected internal injuries.

"The 50-year-old male truck driver was uninjured and was taken to hospital for mandatory testing."

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Australian Workers Union NSW assistant branch secretary Tony Callinan said this worker should never have been put in this situation.

"Future Generation should have halted work earlier in the day when the storm began to hit," he said.

"This worker would still have had a long drive ahead of him, but at least he would have been travelling in safe driving conditions.

"Snowy Hydro has been beset by delays due to last summer's bushfires and COVID-19 but it's completely unacceptable that workers are being expected to pick up the slack by putting their lives at risk."

Mr Callinan said the vast majority of the 1000 workers on the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project are being housed off-site at remote accommodation up to 60 to 90 minutes away.

He added that Future Generation should complete its onsite housing and amenities before proceeding with the tunnelling phase of the project.

"That should be its most pressing deadline," Mr Callinan said.

"121 men lost their lives building the original Snowy Mountains scheme and the AWU will not allow history to be repeated."

Future Generation Joint Venture, the principal contractor for Snowy 2.0, and Snowy Hydro, did not respond to specific questions from The Daily Advertiser about the incident.

But, a spokesperson said the company was deeply distressed to learn of what happened.

"We are focused on the support and recovery of our injured colleague and the welfare of his family and the broader Snowy 2.0 workforce," they said.

"Safety is always our number one priority.

"NSW Police is investigating the road accident and Future Generation is assisting with their enquiries."

Inquiries are continuing, NSW Police said, and anyone with information or dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.