A WOMAN has died and four others, including three children, have been injured after their car crashed into a tree on a rural road west of Melbourne.

Investigators believe the 22-year-old female driver lost control of her vehicle on Bacchus Marsh Rd in Balliang about 3.19pm, near the intersection of Little River Ripley Rd, the Herald Sun reports.

Emergency services initially thought another vehicle was involved in the crash because a family in a van that was following the sedan was at the scene when paramedics arrived.

A 53-year-old woman died at the scene, and the driver was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with chest injuries, cuts and bruising in a serious but stable condition.

A 13-year-old girl was flown to the Royal Children’s Hospital with neck and shoulder injuries, while a two-year-old and another 13-year-old girl were taken to Geelong Hospital with minor injuries.