A collision between a “side-by-side” offroad utility vehicle and a Kia Soul subcompact SUV on U.S. Highway 301 North sent three people to hospitals – one by helicopter – and closed a section of the highway for about two and a half hours Thursday evening.

The accident occurred at approximately 6:40 p.m. near Brooks Hendrix Road, which intersects U.S. 301, also known as State Route 73, about six miles northeast of downtown Statesboro.

Preliminary investigation by the Georgia State Patrol “indicates that a juvenile operating a side-by-side attempted to cross State Route 73 to go into a private drive when it struck the side of a Kia Soul,” GSP Post 45-Statesboro Secretary Ginger Robbins summarized Friday afternoon. “The Kia Soul then left the roadway and overturned multiple times.”

The driver of the Kia was airlifted to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. The passenger from the Kia was transported to the same Savannah hospital by ambulance, while the juvenile from the side-by-side was transported by ambulance to East Georgia Regional Medical Center in Statesboro, according to the State Patrol’s summary.

A state trooper’s initial investigation report had not been completed as of early afternoon Friday, but Robbins was able to summarize the available information. No names were available of the injured persons, and the information did not include the make of the side-by-side.

Both lanes of traffic were closed on a section of U.S. 301 while emergency personnel attended to and transported the injured persons, started the investigation and removed the vehicles. Some motorists had to turn around to find other routes. The highway was reopened at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Robbins said.

No charges had been filed as of Friday, and the incident was being turned over to a Georgia State Patrol SCRT, or Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team, for further investigation.