A man in his 20s had to be cut free from the wreckage of the car he was travelling in following an early morning crash in Nairn yesterday.
The two-car collision happened on the A96 Inverness to Aberdeen road, around 7.40am, in the Tradespark area on the outskirts of the town.
Traffic ground to a halt, with tailbacks stretching several miles in both directions, as police closed both carriageways while the emergency services dealt with the incident.
Crews from the town’s fire station used hydraulic cutting equipment to free the passenger, who was trapped in one of the cars.
He was taken to Raigmore Hospital with non life-threatening injuries, an ambulance spokeswoman confirmed, although she was unable to specify the nature of the injuries or his condition last night.
Both cars, a black Vauxhall, and black Ford Focus, had to be taken away from the scene by a recovery vehicle, with the front of each car having borne the brunt of the impact and being extensively damaged as a result.
The roof and tailgate of the Vauxhall was propped up against the Ford Focus while police and firefighters swept up debris and checked for fuel spillages.
Police set up local diversions, but issued a warning to drivers that the road would be closed for a considerable time, while engineers from trunk road management company, Bear Scotland, assessed damage to the road, before it re-opened just before 10am.
Yesterday’s crash happened less than 24 hours after a car and minibus collided on the B9039, which connects the A96 and Ardersier, via Inverness Airport.
The Citroen C3 car burst into flames on impact, but the driver managed to reach safety and she was also taken to Raigmore Hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
Firefighters from Inverness and Nairn quickly dealt with the blaze although the road remained closed for nearly two and a half hours for the road to be cleared up and the two vehicles to be recovered.
A diversion was put in place to redirect traffic away from the scene.