POLICE say a man has died after a head-on crash on a remote stretch of road at Putty, south west of Singleton, on Sunday afternoon.
Emergency services were called to Putty Road about 1.45pm after reports that two cars had collided head-on.
The driver and sole occupant of one of the vehicles died at the scene.
The man has not yet been formally identified, police said. The three occupants of the other car were taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
Hunter Valley police established a crime scene and are investigating the circumstances of the head-on.
A report will be prepared for the coroner, police said.
Meanwhile, the Hunter's Westpac rescue helicopter service were kept busy over the weekend with a number of call outs. The rescue helicopter conducted a search about 20 nautical miles (37km) east of Belmont, locating a small boat with two people on board. Both were uninjured and the boat was believed to have suffered mechanical problems. Westpac circled overhead until Marine Rescue arrived and towed the boat to shore.
The rescue helicopter was also called to a crash east of Walcha where a car had left the road and hit a tree. A woman was treated at the scene by paramedics and the helicopter's critical care medical team for serious injuries.
