Former world champion boxer Lionel Rose has been taken to hospital with head injuries after a car accident in his home town of Drouin east of Melbourne.

Rose, 55, was reported to have been driving a car that had just pulled out onto South Road with two passengers aboard when the accident happened about 5.10 pm (AEST).

A witness told the Herald Sun that Rose was trapped in the battered car with the two passengers and had to be freed by emergency crews.

"We attempted to get the driver out, but the side doors wouldn't open," he said.

"Because there was fuel all around we just had to leave it."

One of the passengers was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne hospital while Rose and the other passenger were taken to West Gippsland Hospital.

Police confirmed that there had been a crash in Drouin but would not confirm if Rose was one of those injured.

"A car which was heading down Porter Place has collided with a truck and a car in main South Road," he said.

Rose was born in Drouin in 1948 and learnt to box from his father as a young man.

He went on to win the world bantamweight title in Tokyo in 1968 and in the same year became the first Aboriginal to be named Australian of the Year.

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