Two motorists were rushed to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee with head injuries following a three-vehicle collision outside Perth on Thursday.
One of the men, believed to be in his mid-20s, was left trapped in his van after it was crushed between two lorries.
It is thought he had been stopped in a layby on the A9 Western Bypass on the outskirts of Perth when his van was struck by a Scania heavy goods vehicle just before 10am.
Firefighters from Perth and Auchterarder rushed to the scene on the southbound carriageway between the Inveralmond and Broxden roundabouts.
They used hydraulic cutting gear to free the driver from his vehicle.
A spokeswoman from the Scottish Ambulance Service said: ”We received reports that the lorry driver, believed to be in his mid-40s, was initially just shaken up and suffering from shock.
”He was taken to Ninewells Hospital however, as he was believed to have sustained minor head injuries.
”The other patient who was trapped within his vehicle also suffered head injuries, which have been classed as serious but are not thought to be life-threatening.”
The driver of the third vehicle was uninjured.
Tayside Police were also at the scene and diverted traffic around the crash.
Although the recovery operation was mainly contained in the layby area, motorists were advised to seek an alternative route as the incident caused significant tailbacks, with one lane closed to allow safe transfer of the patients.
They were also advised to exercise extra caution due to adverse weather conditions, with heavy rain and poor visibility causing significant difficulties for drivers.
A spokesman from Stornoway and Inverness-based haulage firm DR MacLeod, owners of one of the lorries involved in the collision, said they were aware of the incident but had no comment to make.
The same stretch of road between Broxden and Inveralmond was the scene of a major incident in August.
Both the A9 and A85 Crieff road were closed for almost two hours during rush hour when a lorry struck the flyover near McDiarmid Park, causing minor damage to the bridge.
Motorists also suffered frustrating delays on the A9 during the afternoon on Thursday.
An accident involving a van and a lorry between Ballinluig and Pitlochry forced a brief closure of the road.
The drivers involved suffered only minor injuries.
Photo by Phil Hannah