Just before 1pm, a passerby discovered the vehicle which had careered off the Oxley Highway, four kilometres east of town.

The male driver, who is believed to be a local, was killed instantly.

Ambulance paramedics and RFS crews raced to the scene with police but there was little they could do.

The crash closed the road for several hours as officers combed the scene. The accident occurred on a bend in a 100km/h zone and now investigators will try and piece together what went wrong to force the car off the road.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.