Nova Scotia RCMP are investigating two separate fatal crashes that happened in different parts of the province late Thursday.

Police say the first crash happened around 4:10 p.m. in Colchester County.

According to police, a vehicle left the road on Highway 224 in Pine Grove, N.S., and struck a tree.

A man and woman in the vehicle were sent to hospital, where the man was pronounced dead. The woman remains in hospital in critical condition.

The victim’s identity has not been released. The road was closed for some time as police investigated, but it has since re-opened.

Police say the second crash happened about three hours later in Digby County. A woman was driving along Highway 217 when her vehicle left the road in Rossway, N.S., and also struck a tree.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police reduced traffic to one lane on that section of highway Thursday evening as officers investigated.