Three people have been rushed to hospital after an accident yesterday on the north’s most notorious road.
A woman in her 20s was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness with serious injuries, immediately following the collision on the A9 at its junction with the road to Delny Industrial Estate, north of Invergordon.
A woman in her 80s was also taken to hospital after suffering serious injuries.
A man was also injured, although he is not believed to have been as badly hurt.
Police have appealed for witnesses to the accident to contact them, specifically including the driver of an Audi A3 which is thought to have been in the area.
The fire service confirmed that they had cut two of the casualties free, while another was already out of their vehicle when crews arrived on the scene.
The Inverness to Thurso route was closed for several hours yesterday afternoon, while specialist road policing officers carried out a full investigation.
The incident happened just before 1.30pm with the busy trunk road not opening again to traffic until about 6pm when the two cars involved had been recovered.
The vehicles involved in the collision were a blue Honda Civic which suffered extensive damage and came to rest on a grass verge next to the road and a dark blue Ford Fiesta which was left in the middle of the road with damage to its front end.
A spokesman for the force said: “Police are keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the collision or may have seen the movements of the cars involved in the collision, prior to the incident.
“Officers are also keen to speak to the driver of a light blue or silver Audi A3 which may have been in the area at the time.
“Anyone with information to the incident is asked to contact police on 101.”
A spokesman for the ambulance service said that two ambulances, the air ambulance, a doctor and a paramedic officer had been sent to the scene.
The fire service dispatched crews from Invergordon, Tain and Dingwall, as well as the specialist heavy rescue unit from Inverness to assist at the scene.