KEY POINTS:
A 20-year-old New Zealand man has been killed in a car crash in Western Australia.
Mathew Glenn Brausch lost control of his Ford Falcon sedan and hit a tree after overtaking another vehicle, police say.
A witness said the car was overtaking at high speed on the Great Southern Highway about 10.30pm on Saturday.
The 374km highway starts at The Lakes in Western Australia and ends at Cranbrook and runs parallel with the Perth-Albany railway.
Constable Sam Baker of the Katanning police told the Herald that Mr Brausch was heading home to Broomehill, about 20km south of the crash site, when his vehicle slid sideways and the passenger side of the car collided with the tree on the side of the road. He died at the scene.
Mr Brausch was the only occupant and no other cars were involved.
The roads were wet as it had been raining all day and visibility at the time was poor, Mr Baker said. He would not say where Mr Brausch had been before the collision as police were still investigating. The results of an autopsy performed yesterday were due in a few days.
It is understood Mr Brausch, who worked as a farmhand, moved to Australia about two months ago to be nearer to his mother, Burnette, who moved to the southwest coast about nine months ago.
He had a daughter named Tahlia.
His father, Glenn, who lives in Auckland, was last night making arrangements to travel to Australia.
A family service for Mr Brausch will be held in Australia followed by a memorial service in New Zealand.
