Paramedics only six miles away from the tragic crash which claimed Keiran McKandie’s life were late on the scene as they were forced to linger in a hospital corridor for 40 minutes.
The Tomintoul ambulance eventually arrived at the B9010 road, between Dallas and Kellas, nearly 30 minutes after the accident.
It has since emerged that the paramedics involved had been waiting at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin to hand over a patient to staff there.
They were only made aware of the nearby accident when they returned to their vehicle and signalled they were “clear” to deal with another emergency.
They reached the stricken 16-year-old only minutes before an ambulance from Inverness, which had been dispatched one minute after the incident was reported.
Staff say the Tomintoul crew had alerted Dr Gray’s of their imminent arrival at Moray’s main hospital as they were heading north through Fogwatt.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead has since called for the hospital to link up more effectively with the Scottish Ambulance Service to ensure that patients are handed over in a “swift and efficient” manner.
SAS chief executive, Pauline Howie, visited Elgin last month to discuss the region’s cover shortfall with Mr Lochhead.
She highlighted a project being piloted at Dr Gray’s Hospital, designed to free up the time of ambulance crews.
Mrs Howie said: “We have been piloting the use of a hospital ambulance liaison officer (Halo) at Dr Gray’s.
“That is an SAS officer who works with hospital staff to support a prompt handover of our patients into their care, and frees up our crews to respond to other patients who need help.”