A motorist yesterday described the “horrendous” aftermath of a crash on the A90 dual carriageway that killed three people.
Two men and a woman died and four people were seriously injured in the collision involving a bus and two cars on the Aberdeen to Dundee road.
The tragedy happened near the Drumlithie junction at Glenbervie on Tuesday afternoon.
The stretch of road was closed for almost 24 hours as officers worked to piece-together the cause of the accident.
Yesterday, one motorist who was at the scene of the crash, said: “I have been extremely distraught thinking about it – it was very upsetting to see.”
The collision happened around 4.30pm on Tuesday and involved three vehicles, a red Renault Megane Scenic, a silver Ford B Max, and a CityLink bus.
Police said the three people who died were foreign nationals and were passengers in the Renault.
Formal identifications are ongoing and police are still trying to trace their next of kin.
The male driver and another female passenger in the Renault were airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary – the man having sustained minor injuries and the woman having serious, but non life-threatening injuries.
The man and woman travelling in the silver Ford B Max were also taken to ARI with less serious injuries.
Road Policing Chief Inspector Stewart Mackie said officers had worked through the night to investigate the “tragic accident”.
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He added: “It was a very, very challenging scene for the emergency services, given the nature of the crash.
“This would have been a difficult and harrowing scene for those who witnessed the collision and tried to offer assistance.
“We do have a number of witnesses who have come forward and I would appeal to anyone who was travelling on the A90 at that time, who has seen anything, or if they have any dash-cam footage, to contact us through the 101 number.
“It is still early in our investigation and our efforts now are focusing on trying to piece-together what happened during the collision and to help support the families involved.
“My thoughts remain with everyone affected by this.”
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie said his thoughts were with all those involved.
And safety campaigner Jill Fotheringham said: “On the whole the A90 is littered with smaller junctions which emerge straight on to it without slip lanes.
“My argument at Laurencekirk was always that nothing was being done to improve the safety of crossing or emerging traffic, there are too many junctions with the same problem.
“While it would be not right to speculate on yesterday’s accident, it’s another tragedy on a dangerous stretch of the A90.”