A woman had to be cut free from the wreckage of her Ford Fiesta after it collided with Range Rover near Keith on Wednesday morning.
The woman driver was taken to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin after suffering serious injuries in the accident on the A96 close to the Drummuir junction.
Her injuries were later described as “serious but not life threatening” – there were no other casualties from the incident that happened just before 7am.
As a result of the accident the road had to be closed for several hours with a detour put in place – although that also had to be changed when a goods vehicle broke down along the detour route.
Tailbacks on the main Aberdeen to Inverness route were reported as far back as Elgin, with a police spokesman saying: “The road was blocked for several hours following the accident.
“A female was trapped in one of the vehicles although she was still conscious. Her injuries were not life threatening or life changing.”
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman added that appliances from Huntly and Elgin were called to the scene and had to use cutting gear to release the trapped driver.