A man is in critical condition after being hit by a lorry – just moments after leaving Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin.
It is understood the 54-year-old walked out of the hospital and was about 100 yards from the entrance when he was struck by a Tesco delivery truck.
He was initially treated in Elgin before being transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where he remained in a life-threatening condition last night.
The accident happened on West Road – part of the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness route – at about 12.30pm on Saturday.
Police sealed off the road by the petrol station for about five hours to allow collision investigators to piece together what happened.
Yesterday, the woman who raised the alarm said she heard a lorry brake suddenly and looked out the window to see people racing to the man’s aid.
She said: “Lots of people rushed out to help. There were people from the petrol station too. There’s a bus stop there, I don’t know if he was trying to get to that.”
Another woman said: “It’s a shock for something like this to happen outside your front door. I hope the man gets better. I feared the worst when I saw the size of the lorry.”
Other residents remained oblivious to the emergency unfolding outside their front door but grew concerned when the lorry remained at the scene until the early evening.
One man said: “I thought it had just broken down – but then I saw the police going up and down the road and realised it was something a lot more serious.”
Officers taped off a large section of the road and marshalled traffic while they began investigations outside the petrol station forecourt.
The A96 was closed between Wittet Drive and the roundabout outside Dr Gray’s until the lorry was removed.
Sergeant Brian Ferry said: “I would like to thank the public for their assistance and patience while the incident was being dealt with.”
Traffic was busier than normal on the A96 on Saturday as thousands of Aberdeen fans travelled north to cheer on their team in Dingwall against Ross County.
Yesterday Elgin City South councillor John Divers said his thoughts were with the injured man and his family.
He said: “We have always had issues with crossing points at that side of the A96 but they have normally been further down towards the roundabout – there’s been concerns there for years.
“The corner of Wittet Drive is always a difficult one because cars have to nose out but this seems to be entirely different because it’s a pedestrian.
“Obviously it’s concerning there’s been an incident and I’m sure the police will be looking into the hows and whys it happened.”
NHS Grampian declined to comment last night.
