The incident occurred on the Pyrenees Highway about 7.15pm when the policeman was on route to investigate trees blocking a road.

Maryborough Sergeant Steven Cunningham said the policeman had been hit with glass in his eyes and was taken to Maryborough Hospital to be examined.

Earlier in the evening a 45-year-old man crashed his car into a tree on the Western Highway.

Paramedics were called to the scene near the weighbridge at Warrenheip about 5.40pm.

The man was trapped for at least 30 minutes and received chest and back injuries, as well as mild hypothermia.

He was taken to the Ballarat Health Services Base Hospital.

At about 6pm emergency crews cut an 81-year-old man from his car after a crash on Creswick Road.

Leading Senior Constable Mark Weller said the accident involved a Holden Commodore and a Holden Epica.

The 81-year-old, a passenger in the Epica, was trapped for 45 minutes after the crash. He was not serious injured.

Leading Senior Constable Weller said the probationary driver of the Commodore would be fined for going through an orange light.

Meanwhile, at about 9pm in Ross Creek police were called after a car drove off Bells Road into the river.

A police media spokesman said the occupants of vehicle had to be rescued, however people who went to their aide then got their own vehicles stuck in the unstable ground.

He warned people to stay clear of the area due to flooding. No one was injured in the crash.