Police chiefs have vowed to probe whether a Moray “danger road” played a role in a tragic crash which left a teenager dead.
Neringa Nurusyte, 14, was killed in a collision on the B9016 road between Buckie and Keith late last month.
The incident was the latest in a string of crashes on the country route.
Buckie councillor, Gordon McDonald, has campaigned for the local authority to upgrade the safety of the B9016 for years.
Yesterday, during a meeting of the council’s police and fire and rescue services committee, he urged the force to determine whether the condition of the road was a factor in the crash.
Chief Superintendent Campbell Thomson confirmed that officers would leave no stone unturned as they sought to figure out exactly what happened.
He said: “Every crash like this has a significant investigation before a report goes to the procurator fiscal.
“A significant amount of resources have been put into this, and the findings will be presented to the bodies that need to know that information.”
Following the meeting, Mr McDonald said: “What happened was a tragic disaster, but we need to find out whether the road in any way contributed to it.
“It’s not for me to say whether the road was an issue, but it has a history so we need to know if it was.
“Its reputation is well-known, and that is why we are looking at trying to improve it.”
Since 2013 the B-road has been the scene of seven crashes, two of which were fatal and another serious.
During a meeting at the end of March, SNP councillors successfully argued that £42,000 should be included in the council’s capital plan to carry out preliminary works on improving safety along the route.
But it emerged that two councillors who voted for the scheme were not fully aware of what it entailed.
The matter was brought back to the table in May, where members voted 13-11 in favour of axing the work, blaming financial constraints.
Neringa died on Wednesday, October 26, and her friend Nyah McKay is still recovering in hospital in Glasgow after suffering a broken neck in the accident.
A 16-year-old girl, a 17-year-old girl and the 17-year-old youth who was driving the car were also hurt.
