A MAN died on a Highland road last night when he was run over by his own pick-up truck.
Police were investigating the freak accident on the A835 Tore to Maryburgh road.
Officers refused to give any details of what had happened. But it is understood the victim was found at the front of a blue Ford Ranger, which was parked in a layby on the southbound carriageway, just beyond the Leanaig junction.
The accident happened around 6.20pm as many commuters made their way home along the busy trunk road.
It remained shut in both directions last night as officers from the local road policing unit examined the scene.
The vehicle involved could be seen parked in the layby, with blocks beside its wheels to prevent it from rolling.
Motorists were diverted on to the unclassified Old Leanaig Road, a back road which runs parallel to the A835 between the Conon Bridge and Leanaig junctions. A fire brigade crew from Dingwall and the heavy rescue unit from Inverness, which carries specialist cutting gear, were at the scene. A second crew was later sent to provide back-up.
The incident was the most serious in a spate of road accidents across the Highlands and islands yesterday.
A man was taken to hospital in Inverness with spinal injuries after an early morning smash. The driver’s 4X4 left the B9039 between Castle Stuart and Ardersier and landed in a field at around 7.40am.
Firefighters from Nairn and Inverness had to use hydraulic cutting gear to release the man from the badly damaged vehicle.
A police spokesman said that the man was taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. Firefighters from Kirkwall on Orkney were called to deal with a car on fire on the A961 Kirkwall to Holm road at 3.41am.
The crew used two hose-reel jets to douse the blazing car, which was destroyed.
And firefighters from Dornoch went to the scene of a one-car accident on the A9 Inverness-Thurso road at Poles, near Dornoch.
A man and a woman were out of the vehicle before the crew arrived. They were unhurt.
Meanwhile, yesterday afternoon, a man was taken to hospital after a crash in Stornoway.
The incident happened at Sandwick Road at around 2.50pm.
The driver was taken to the Western Isles General Hospital in Stornoway. There was no information on his condition last night.