A 30-year-old man from Nairn has died following an early morning crash on the A9 near Tore.
The incident occurred at 1.50am this morning south of the junction with the B9161 for Munlochy and involved a Volvo tipper and a Scania Tipper.
James Noble, who had been driving the Volvo tipper, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Noble – also known as Jamie – will be ‘greatly missed’, his family has said.
A family statement released through police said: “Jamie was a much-loved fiancé to Morven and an amazing dad to Daniel. He will be greatly missed by all of his family and friends.
“Our family would appreciate privacy at this difficult time, while we come to terms with our loss.”
Police inquiries ongoing to piece together tragic incident
The A9 Inverness to Thurso road was closed for more than eight hours as police carried out an investigation.
Police have said that Mr Noble had “exited his vehicle at the time of the incident”.
Sergeant Ewan Calder, from the Highland and Islands Road Policing Unit, said: “Our thoughts are with Jamie’s family at this terrible time.
“Inquiries remain ongoing and we ask anyone who may have been travelling southbound in the area around the time of the incident and witnessed what took place, or has any dashcam footage, to please come forward.”
Anyone with information can call police on 101, quoting incident 0184 of March 12.
A Bear Scotland spokesman, said: “Our deepest sympathies go out to the deceased’s family and colleagues at this time.
“This tragic fatal incident occurred on one of our sites and involved a supply chain member of one of our long-term contractors.
“We are co-operating fully with, and will give all assistance to, the police investigation to determine the cause of this tragic incident.
“The health and safety of all those on our sites is of paramount importance to us and we were devastated to learn of this tragic event.”
A spokeswoman for the Breedon Group, who own a majority stake in Alba Traffic Management, said: “Our thoughts are with the deceased’s family and colleagues at this time.
“We are cooperating fully with the Police investigation, and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
