ZAGREB, Croatia, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Macedonian pop singer Tose Proeski died Tuesday in a car crash on a central Croatian highway when his sports utility vehicle collided with a truck, police said.

Proeski, 26, was one of the most popular singers in the Balkan states of the former Yugoslavia. He sang for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at the Eurovision song contest in 2004.

The collision occurred at Nova Gradiska, 80 miles southeast of Zagreb, on the main highway leading to Belgrade, in Serbia, Croatian police said.

Proeski was declared dead at the scene and his driver and a manager were slightly injured in the crash, Croatia’s NOVA TV station reported.