A woman has died in Victoria's west just hours into the new year after her vehicle swerved to avoid a kangaroo.
The 58-year-old woman from NSW died after the car in which she was travelling crashed on Grampians Road in Illawarra just before 6am on Monday.
"Already we've had a life lost, the first life lost in 2018," assistant commissioner Doug Fryer told reporters.
"Just on dawn, a car load of people swerved to miss a kangaroo and tragically we had a woman die in that crash."
Three other people in the car were also injured. One was airlifted to hospital with non life-threatening injuries and two people sustained minor injuries.
Police are urging motorists to be careful when driving along country roads at dawn and dusk, when kangaroos can be a hazard.
"We know that in our country areas at dusk and dawn, we get wildlife on the roads," Mr Fryer said.
Motorists should not try to take evasive action and avoid wildlife by swerving as it could lead to their car leaving the road and hitting a tree.
"Brake as hard and as safely as you can and brace for impact," Mr Fryer said.
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