A Toyota Corolla and a ute collided head-on on the Warburton Highway at Launching Place about 5.25pm yesterday.

Ambulance Victoria group manager Frank Cummane said paramedics and a helicopter arrived to find a distressing scene.

''The cars were destroyed and unfortunately a woman aged in her 40s was dead on arrival,'' he said.

''It appeared the cars had collided head-on, heavily trapping both the woman and a seven-year-old girl.

''The girl was trapped by her legs for nearly an hour as the [Country Fire Authority] and [State Emergency Service] worked to cut her free.

''She suffered serious leg fractures and we could access her through the debris, treating her with pain relief through an inhaler. We gave her some oxygen to help her breathing and used an ECG monitor to check her heart.''

Firefighters freed the girl at 6.20pm, and she was flown to the Royal Children's Hospital in a serious condition.

The dead woman was the driver of the Corolla, police said.

A man from the ute was taken to the Maroondah Hospital as a precaution.

Ten people have lost their lives on NSW roads, five in Victoria and three in Queensland.

Two people have been killed in Western Australia, while one person has died in each of South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

The ACT remains fatality-free this holiday season. The toll figures began on December 18.

AAP