A van driver died and two people were seriously injured in a weekend of horrific crashes across the north-east.
The 28-year-old was killed when his van collided with a blue Honda CRV on the B9001 Inverurie-Rothienorman road, near the Mains of Glack.
The 39-year-old female car driver was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with serious injuries.
The other people travelling in her vehicle – a man and two children, aged nine and seven – were also taken to hospital.
The tragedy happened just a day after a 26-year-old biker died in a crash with a car on the B977 Echt-The Birks road.
And yesterday, emergency services were called to the B9001 after two cars collided near Badenscoth House Nursing Home at about 1.15pm.
Firefighters had to cut a 27-year-old man from the wreckage of his vehicle, and he was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Police described the fatal accident – which happened on Saturday – as “horrific”, with the Honda sent spinning through a fence and into a field.
Tributes to the van driver yesterday lined the roadside, which was still littered with smashed glass and debris, with one poignantly stating: “I’ll miss you, we all will.”
One neighbour revealed he was not aware of the crash until a Good Samaritan – believed to be a vet – knocked on his door to get a knife.
He said: “We never heard the smash, we were watching the TV. The first indication we got was when a woman come up to get a knife to cut a passenger free. She was just a driver, a passerby.
“There was a paramedic on the scene and the woman I gave the knife to was a vet. I think it must have been the airbag that she cut. The driver was trapped and the woman was speaking to her, keeping her conscious.
“By that time there was some folk there and the services were quick on the scene, police, ambulance, everything.”
Firefighters from Inverurie, Oldmeldrum and Kintore helped release the woman and she was taken to hospital in a serious condition.
The man said traffic on the B9001 had increased tenfold since work started to upgrade the Inveramsay bridge on the A96, and because the A920 Inverurie-Oldmeldrum road is closed for resurfacing works.
The road was closed well into the night to allow police to carry out an investigation at the scene.
Sergeant Jon Barron, of Aberdeen’s roads policing unit, said: “This was a horrific collision and our thoughts are very much with the family and friends of the man who has sadly lost his life.
“In order to help piece-together exactly what happened I would like anyone who witnessed the collision, or who may have seen either vehicle on the road shortly before to contact police as soon as possible.
“I would also like to thank the motorists who stopped to render assistance and first aid until the arrival of the emergency services.”
Yesterday, police, ambulance and fire crews were called to the B9001 after a blue Renault Clio collided with a black Vauxhall Astra.
The blue car went crashing through a roadside home’s garden wall, landing inches from its front door.
Firefighters from both Insch and Turriff used cutting gear to remove the door of the vehicle, allowing doctors to administer emergency medical treatment to the 27-year-old inside.
He was taken to ARI with serious injuries.
Police have not yet named the victim of Friday’s accident, although it is understood the biker – who was on a Honda Hornet when it collided with a silver BMW 320d just outside Echt – was originally from the Kintore area but had been living in Aberdeen.