The incident occurred on Thursday evening, with authorities finding the pair’s Volvo sedan crushed under a large, fallen tree on Victoria Street in Katoomba. What caused the tree to fall remains unclear.

The woman aged in her 40s, who was a passenger in the car, suffered fatal injuries while the male driver, aged in his 20s, was taken to hospital with head and chest injuries.

He remains in a serious condition at Westmead Hospital.

Victoria Street remains closed in both directions.