A 20-year-old Wauchope man died this morning when two cars collided at Burrawan Forest Drive, Lake Innes.

The P-plate driver was already dead when paramedics arrived at the scene.

Another man, 48, was taken to hospital and was in a stable condition.

Emergency services said speed may have been a factor in the accident.

It's the third fatal crash on the Mid-North Coast in as many weeks.

On January 20 a 26-year-old driver was killed at Smithtown, north of Port Macquarie, and a 55-year-old passenger died in a crash at Herons Creek on Australia Day.