A woman had to be cut free from her car after it was crushed between a tractor and a 4×4 at a “dangerous” junction on the A96.
The driver of the blue Mazda 2, who is in her 50s, was travelling east towards Forres when she collided with a black Subaru Forester and the grey Valtra tractor on the junction with Kintessack, near Forres.
The accident led to long tailbacks for motorists on the main Aberdeen to Inverness road.
It is understood the woman driving the Subaru, who was in her 70s, was in the right turning lane about to exit the A96 towards Dyke when the accident happened yesterday afternoon, while the tractor was waiting to pull out onto the busy trunk road.
Emergency services were called to the scene of the accident at Findhorn Bridge shortly after 1pm.
Fire crews from Elgin and Forres used cutting equipment and a spinal board to free the woman from the wreckage of the Mazda, and she was taken to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin by ambulance with suspected back and pelvic injuries.
The vehicles collided at the Findhorn Bridge yesterday afternoon
A police spokeswoman said all of those involved has escaped serious injury.
“The female driver of the Mazda was taken to Dr Gray’s Hospital as a precaution,” she said.
“The Subaru driver suffered only minor injuries.”
The driver of the tractor, local farmer Davie Nicholson, walked away from the crash unscathed and helped to clear debris from the road.
Elgin Station Manager Anna Rogers said: “We deployed two appliances, one from Elgin fire station, and one from Forres. The crews used hydraulic cutting gear to remove the roof of one car, which allowed us maximum space to be able to take the casualty out with the spinal board on the advice of the paramedics.
“We made sure all the vehicles involved were safe and provided first aid assistance to the paramedics at the scene.”
The road remained open after the incident, but police controlled traffic at the scene, which led to long tailbacks in both directions for more than two hours.
The junction sits on a tight bend and opens into three lanes just after a straight stretch of road.
Nearby resident Libby Gunn said it was a “dangerous” spot for people who do not know it well.
Ms Gunn, whose house looks onto the A96, said: “They get a straight bit of road and come flying round that corner and don’t realise there’s a third turning lane here, and then again at the Mundole junction further down.
“I have sat there a couple of times waiting to get across and had my wing mirror clipped by a big lorry. They don’t realise how tight it is.
“Trying to get out of this junction is bad, but you just have to sit and wait. You can’t chance it.
“You have got to be aware of the fact that tractors are about too.
“Tractor drivers have got to use the road as well, especially at this time of year.”