A man has died after crashing a Ford Escape Hybrid into several trees, sparking a vehicle fire along Big Oak Church Road near Highway 211. The collision happened shortly after 9 a.m. on Monday just south of Skill Road.

According to authorities, the Escape was traveling north on Big Oak Church Road when it veered off the right side of the road into three different trees.

The Escape was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, and due to the hybrid battery, it took firefighters longer to extinguish the flames. The first tree the man hit had the top knocked off, the second tree came crashing onto the hood of the Escape, and the third tree left a huge indention in the driver side door.

Troopers say their preliminary estimate is the man was traveling at least 90 miles per hour at the time of the impact. They said the driver never applied the brakes or tried to steer back into the roadway.

Big Oak Church Road was closed from Highway 211 to Samarcand Road for several hours while emergency crews were on the scene.

The crash remains under investigation.