A man was critically injured when he was hit by a van on a main road in the early hours of the morning.
It is believed the 31-year-old pedestrian may have been struck by the vehicle’s wing mirror at around 4.30am yesterday just outside Newmachar.
He was taken to hospital with serious head injuries after the accident on the A947 Dyce to Olmeldrum road near the Newmachar Hotel.
The male driver of the white Mercedes sprinter van involved in the crash was unhurt and the only visible damage to the vehicle was to the passenger side wing mirror.
Emergency services attended the scene and the badly-injured man was transferred by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where he was being treated last night.
Police closed the road for more than seven hours while they carried out inquiries and motorists were being diverted via Pitmedden.
The road was reopened at around noon yesterday.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We received a call at 4.31am on Friday, October 20 to attend an incident on the A947 north of Newmachar. We dispatched two ambulances to the scene.
“One male patient was taken to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.”
It remained unclear last night what the man had been doing on the stretch of road, which has no pavement at the location where the accident happened.
Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
One resident who lives nearby and did not wish to be named said he had not heard anything.
“Perhaps he had missed his bus and was walking home, but I hope he is alright,” they said.
Road policing sergeant Steve Manson last night said: “Inquiries into this collision are at an early stage; however, we would ask that anyone who saw a male walking in the area, or who saw the Mercedes Sprinter van, contact us on 101 quoting incident 0407 of 20 October.”