A man has died after suffering serious head injuries in a horrific car crash in the Highlands.
He was taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness after the smash at about 11.02am on Monday on the A832 Avoch to Munlochy road, near Rosehaugh, where a black Volkswagen and a black Renault were involved in a serious collision.
Emergency services were called to the scene, however the driver of the Volkswagen died from injuries sustained in the crash.
A Collision Investigation has been carried out at the scene and police are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the crash to come forward.
The road was closed as specialist police officers worked at the scene to try to piece-together what happened.
A woman with suspected back injuries was also taken to hospital.
The accident happened on a straight stretch of the busy route to the west of the village of Avoch and about two-and-a-half miles from the Munlochy junction.
Debris from the collision was strewn across the road, with one of the two cars landing up a grass bank next to a ploughed field.
It had become tangled in a wire fence facing east, and had damage to both its front and rear ends.
The other car, a black Renault Megane, landed more than 50 yards away with frontal damage so severe its entire engine block was left exposed.
One of the cars hit a stone wall running alongside the road.
Road traffic officers from Dingwall spend most of the day studying the crash scene and the vehicles were not recovered until several hours after the accident, which happened around 11am.
An air ambulance was initially called but was stood down before reaching the scene.
Fire crews from Inverness and Fortrose and a specialist heavy rescue unit from the Highland capital were all involved in the operation at the crash site.
A police spokesman said: “The A832 was closed following a serious road traffic collision which was reported just after 11am.
“Emergency services, including the police, fire and ambulance attended.
The road is one of the busiest on the Black Isle, running across the peninsula from the A9 Inverness-Thurso route and passing through the villages of Fortrose, Rosemarkie and Cromarty.
Motorists were diverted along minor roads while the accident investigation was carried out.