A man has now been charged over a fatal crash at Tighes Hill over the weekend.
Emergency services were called to Maitland Road near Henry Street after a car left the road and collided with a power pole at about 11:10pm on Saturday night.
Newcastle City Police District officers said initial inquiries suggested the Hyundai i30 was travelling east on Maitland Road when it left the roadway and collided with a power pole, splitting it in half and throwing the male passenger from the car.
The car then hit a parked car and a sedan before coming to a stop.
The 27-year-old male passenger died at the scene.
The 31-year-old driver was able to free himself from the wreckage and was taken to the John Hunter Hospital for treatment and mandatory testing.
About 1.30pm yesterday the driver was arrested after being discharged from hospital and taken to Newcastle Police Station. He was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death – drive manner dangerous and negligent driving (occasioning death).
The man was refused bail and will appear in Newcastle Local Court today.