A serious vehicle accident left three people injured and the roadway blocked to traffic in both directions north of Carthage Saturday afternoon.

Emergency responders were dispatched just before 3:00 pm to the area near US Highway 15-501 and Stage Road for a reported vehicle accident.

A Honda Civic was off of the roadway overturned onto its top, with the second vehicle a Pontiac Grand Prix on the roadway facing the southbound direction.

Three people were transported by ambulance to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst. The victim’s conditions were not known as of this report.

US Highway 15-501 was closed for an extended time period to traffic in both directions while the injured were assisted and the accident investigated. In addition, due to the large amount of oil and other fluids on the roadway from the accident the NC Department of Transportation had to bring in a load of sand to be spread and help absorb most of this potentially hazardous fluids helping to prevent another accident from happening. The road reopened to normal traffic in both directions at 5:05 pm.

Responding to this accident today were units with Carthage Fire & Rescue, Cypress Pointe Fire & Rescue, Moore County EMS, Carthage Police Department, Moore County Sheriff’s Department, and the NC State Highway Patrol.

The cause of the accident remained under investigation as of this report.