Man dead, multiple people injured after car collides with bus near Dubbo

A man is dead and multiple people are injured after a car that police had been pursuing moments earlier collided with a bus carrying dozens of passengers on a highway in central western NSW.

Paramedics treated 26 bus passengers and eight were taken to hospital after emergency services were called to the crash on the Mitchell Highway south of Dubbo shortly after 9am on Saturday.

The male driver, believed to be in his 30s, died at the crash site.

Dramatic images show the smashed car on its roof, and the highway strewn with shattered glass and metal, metres from a red NSW TrainLink bus that has left the road.

Police have set up a crime scene and launched a critical incident investigation into the collision.

NSW Police said officers patrolling the highway had activated their lights and sirens as they tried to stop a Mazda sedan about 9.15am. They started a pursuit when the car failed to stop, but called it off due to safety concerns a short time later.

The car crashed into the bus near the intersection of the highway and Eulomogo Road soon after, police said.

The driver has not been formally identified.