One person died and five others were injured in a horrific crash on the north-east busiest road.
Three men and two women were cute free from the wreckage of a Renault Megane and Vauxhall Meriva after they collided on the A90 Aberdeen-Fraserburgh route.
A 57-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the smash near the Toll of Birness junction.
And campaigners said last night the tragedy underlined the need to urgently upgrade the road north of Ellon.
The five people injured in the accident were all taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
It happened on a straight section of road between Ellon and the Toll of Birness, within sight of the junction.
Police, ambulances and fire and rescue service crews were all called to the scene.
It is understood a couple who were first on the scene tried to help those trapped inside the metallic brown Vauxhall and the black Renault.
The road was closed between Ellon and the Toll of Birness for several hours while a police collision investigation team examined the scene.
Officers later appealed for witnesses to come forward.
Last night local councillors said the stretch of road – which is single carriageway and used by thousands of people every day – was in urgent need of an upgrade.
Ellon and District member Gillian Owen – who is fighting to have the A90 dualled all the way to Peterhead and Fraserburgh – said the stretch of road near the Toll of Birness was one of the worst sections of the route.
The Why Stop At Ellon? campaign aims to extend the work to deliver the Aberdeen Western Peripheral route the full length of the A90, instead of halting it at Tipperty.
Conservative councillor Mrs Owen said: “It is sad for the families. When someone dies the trauma is just spread. It is life-changing.
“We go along it all the time, the road is not good, the road surface is poor, there are potholes. It is in a state, it does need looking at.
“I suppose whatever is going to be done about the A90, the Toll of Birness will be one of the things they sort out. The junction there passed its sell-by date 20 years ago.
“We shouldn’t have to wait for people to die on this road before something is done about it. I am not saying dualling it all will stop accidents, but at the same time it will help.”
Liberal Democrat councillor for the area, Isobel Davidson, said: “People have been complaining about that stretch of road for a long time.
“The campaign to dual the carriageway all the way to Peterhead is a very popular campaign because it is a frustrating section of road. There is a lot of heavy traffic.
“It is absolutely tragic for the family of the woman who has died and the people who are injured. It happens all too often in the north-east.”
Sergeant Neil Morrison, of the local road policing unit, said: “Inquiries into the cause of this collision are at an early stage, however we would ask anyone who was in the area at the time or who saw either of these vehicles in the area prior to collision to come forward.”
Traffic was diverted northbound through Ellon along the A948 Ellon to Auchnagatt road, while southbound traffic was diverted along the A975 coastal route to Newburgh after the accident, which happened around 2pm on Saturday.
A fire and rescue spokeswoman said: “We extracted five people using cutting gear.
“In total it was three females and two males. We had four units there – two from Ellon, one from Peterhead and one from Maud.”
Amanda Stephen, who took to social media to express her shock at the incident, said: “So sad, my Grandma and Granda were first at the crash, my Granda is ill and had to help get people from the car.
“It’s utterly heart breaking what happened today. And my condolences are with the family. Also the witnesses are in a huge amount of shock as well physically and emotionally.”
