A University of Toronto student is dead after his solar-powered car was involved in a head-on collision. Police described it as a "freak accident."

The crash happened Thursday afternoon near Kitchener in southwestern Ontario.

Police say the solar car lost control and veered across the centre line, swerved back into its lane, hit the shoulder, then again swerved across the line into the path of a mini-van.

Andrew Frow, 21, was rushed to hospital but couldn't be saved. The car, which was made of fibreglass, was also destroyed. The driver of the mini-van was unhurt.

"I think the weight is a lot different in a solar car than it is in a normal vehicle, so maybe the wind was a factor," said Sgt. Glenn Childerley of the OPP's Perth County detachment.

CFTO News reports the Blue Sky solar racer was involved in a two-care accident two years ago. The driver wasn't seriously hurt in that incident, but the car was severely damaged and then rebuilt.

Frow was part of a tour of six solar-powered cars that were travelling from Stratford to Kitchener-Waterloo.

They were to appear at the University of Toronto's campus on Saturday to help mark the anniversary of 2003's massive power black-out that struck southern Ontario. The tour was to conclude in Montreal on Aug. 21.

With a report from CFTO's Leianne Pereira