State Emergency Service, paramedics, police and firefighters were called to Beaton Avenue where they found a 25-year-old male driver trapped in a car.

Police said the man lost control of the Mitsubishi Lancer he was driving and it crashed into a Mitsubishi Delica van parked on the opposite side of the road.

The impact of the crash pushed the van 15 metres up an incline, according to police.

SES and Fire and Rescue NSW crews were enlisted to help free the man from the wreckage.

The SES told the Newcastle Herald that heavy and medium rescue trucks were dispatched to respond to the crash, along with eight of the service's rescue operators.

The SES said hydraulic rescue equipment was used to get the man out of the vehicle in a "prolonged extrication", before he was taken to hospital.

Police said the passenger in the Lancer escaped with minor injuries but both were taken to John Hunter Hospital, "with the driver being placed in an induced coma due to the severity of the injuries sustained".

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