Man killed after his ute hits tree in NSW

A young man has been killed after the ute he was driving veered off the highway and crashed into a tree near Bathurst.

The 25-year-old man was driving along the Great Western Highway with a 23-year-old male passenger on Monday when the ute left the road and ploughed into a tree just after 7am, NSW police said.

The driver died at the scene while his passenger was taken to Orange hospital for minor injuries.