A man in his 80s, a passenger in one of the cars pronounced deceased at the scene. 

The car's driver, a woman in her 60s, sustained serious injuries in the crash. She has been taken to Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore for treatment.

Two other men — the driver and passenger of the other car involved — were also hospitalised in the wake of the crash, though gardaí have said their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. The men are aged in their 30s and 20s, respectively.

The road where the accident occurred is now closed to traffic pending a technical examination of the scene by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators. Local diversions are in place.

Gardaí have issued an appeal for witnesses.

Any road users who may have camera footage and were travelling on the R394 between Mullingar and Castlepollard between 4.45am and 5.45am on Wednesday have been asked to make this footage available to investigating gardaí.

Anyone with any information should contact Mullingar Garda Station on 044 938 4000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.

Death toll on Irish roads approaches 100 

The man who died in the collision is the fourth person to have been killed on Irish roads in the past 24 hours, and the second in Westmeath. 

In a separate incident, a man in his 50s died following a single-car crash in the county last night. 

In Co Mayo, a mother and her young daughter were killed after the car they were travelling in collided with a lorry. 

The incident happened on the N26 at in Lismoran, Foxford, at approximately 5.45pm yesterday.

The woman, aged in her 40s, and her daughter, aged 8, who was a passenger in the car, were fatally injured in the crash.

They are understood to be from Mayo.

According to statistics from gardaí, 97 people have died on Irish roads so far this year. This is up 12 on the same period last year.