A young motorcyclist has died following a rush hour smash with three other vehicles on a notorious north-east road.
The man, who was in his 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident on the A947 Banff to Aberdeen route, near Fyvie.
His bike, a yellow Honda VFR, was involved in a collision with a DPD parcel delivery vehicle and two other vans.
The route was shut for several hours while collision investigators tried to establish what had happened.
Yesterday’s accident has raised further concerns about the state of the A947, which has been the scene of several fatal crashes in recent years. The 38-mile route is the subject of an ongoing review by Aberdeenshire Council which is aimed at slashing the death toll.
A police spokeswoman said last night: “We can confirm that a man has died following a collision on the A947, about a mile south of Fyvie.
“The road was closed while inquiries were carried out, but reopened just after 1pm.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said one of its crews attended the scene shortly after 8am, but was not required to take anyone to hospital.
Councillor Peter Argyle, who is head of Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee and involved in the A947 improvements drive, said: “I am very sad to hear the news of this fatal accident and my heart goes out to the family and friends of the young man who has so tragically lost his life.
“The council is doing a great deal to improve the safety of the A947 for all those using it, through education, enforcement and engineering and through working with communities and partners.”
He said: “One accident is, of course, one too many and whilst the accident record across Aberdeenshire has improved significantly over the past few years, there is – and always will be – more to be done.”
Local councillor Jim Gifford described yesterday morning’s crash as a “terrible tragedy”. He added: “As well as looking for options for improving the road’s infrastructure, it is also clear that people need to take more responsibility when driving.”
Councillor Sandy Duncan said: “Quite often, its not the road that’s at fault. But what the cause of this morning’s accident was, I don’t know.”
A spokesman for delivery company DPD said the firm was helping emergency services with their investigation into the collision.
“Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family of the gentleman involved,” he said. “Our team will continue to provide every assistance with the investigation and if we are able to comment further in the future, we will.”
The route, which winds through Turriff, Fyvie and Oldmeldrum has been the scene of 17 fatal accidents in the last seven years, including yesterday’s.
In 2012, a £150,000 study was launched by Aberdeenshire Council to look at ways of tackling problem bends. The local authority is aiming to reduce the number of fatal and serious smashes by at least 40% by 2020.
The council recently agreed to create more passing places on the route in an effort to make it safer for overtaking vehicles.