Police have named the victim of a Mearns road crash on Tuesday night.
John Stewart, 78, of Marykirk, died after his Dacia Duster was involved in a collision with a van.
The accident happened on the A90 Aberdeen to Dundee road at its junction with the unclassified road leading to Marykirk at about 9.25pm on Tuesday.
Mr Stewart was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other driver, a 19-year-old man who was in a white Ford Transit van, was not injured.
The southbound lane of the A90 was closed until 6.20am on Wednesday while police carried out investigations. Officers are urging anyone with information on the crash to come forward.
Mearns SNP councillor Leigh Wilson offered condolences to Mr Stewart’s family.
“It seems I have said this too often recently but my thoughts go out to all those involved.
“If anyone who witnessed the incident has any information they should relay that to the police.”
He added: “The details of how the crash happened are secondary at this point because someone has passed away and our thoughts are purely focused on that. It does, however, highlight the absolute necessity of improving the Marykirk junction and I sincerely hope that the upgrade is completed before another tragedy occurs here.
“Too many lives have been lost along this stretch of road and the sooner work starts, the sooner we can try to save lives.”
More than £2 million has been spent on average-speed cameras on the A90 in an effort to make the road safer.
They were put in place following three fatal and six serious collisions in 2015, as well as 13,000 speeding offences detected in the same year by fixed and mobile cameras.
Laurencekirk junction campaigner Jill Fotheringham said the A90 was “unforgiving” to emerging traffic.
“While this fatality did not happen at the Laurencekirk junction, we have long understood that the accident level has risen at surrounding junctions due to people avoiding it,” she said.
“Whether this has been the case or not we will never know, however I know the central reservation at that particular junction is very narrow and this has just shown how dangerous, unforgiving and tragic the A90 is to emerging traffic.
“My heart goes out to the family and friends of the gentleman who has been killed.”
It is hoped a new flyover at Laurencekirk will be ready by 2021.
Anyone who might have seen either vehicle prior to the collision, or who saw the accident itself and who hasn’t yet come forward, is advised to contact police by calling 101
