A Spanish holidaymaker was critically ill in hospital last night after her hire car and a cattle truck collided on the A96.
The accident involving a silver Vauxhall Corsa and a lorry happened at the Market Street junction in Forres.
A female passenger in the car – who was sitting behind the driver – is understood to have suffered serious head injuries.
She was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary while two men – also believed to be Spanish nationals – who were travelling in the car were taken to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin suffering from less serious injuries.
The Vauxhall was crossing the busy A96 dual carriageway from the A940 Forres-Grantown road when the accident happened shortly before 1pm.
The trunk route was closed for about eight hours, meaning drivers had to travel through the centre of Forres while accident investigation officers examined the scene.
The road reopened to traffic around 9pm.
The force of the crash badly damaged the driver’s side of the car, and spun it off the road.
Police and paramedics were called to the scene shortly before 1pm
A police spokesman said: “The rear passenger is the person we have the most serious concerns about.
“Two males who were in the front of the car sustained injuries but they were not thought to be life-threatening.”
The male driver of the cattle float, owned by Caithness firm W D Cormack and Son, was uninjured but was left “badly shaken”.
A spokeswoman for the firm said: “We understand the accident involved tourists in a hired car.
“Thankfully our driver wasn’t hurt, but he was badly shaken.”
The lorry was heading north, having earlier collected livestock from the Thainstone Mart at Inverurie.
The truck remained at the scene until around 5pm when it was removed by Forres firm MLG Transport.
Forres councillor George Alexander said: “I was travelling along the A96 at the time of the accident, when I heard a loud bang.
“I didn’t see anything of the impact, as by the time I had looked up to see what had happened all I could make out was a cloud of dust and debris, and the car on the side of the road.
“But the noise was astounding.”
He added: “This is a dangerous junction and always has been a dangerous junction.
“Even some local people refuse to use that junction.”
Forres Community Council chairman, Stewart Noble, said: “Previous community councils have fought against that junction and local people are well aware how dangerous a spot it is.
“It’s a real shame that it appears someone less familiar with the area has had this accident.”
Police have appealed to witnesses to the crash to contact them on 101.