A two car head-on collision Saturday afternoon sent three people to a local hospital.
The crash happened around 12:45 p.m. on West Elk Avenue in front of the Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
Witnesses told police a blue Ford Focus travelling west on the busy city road crossed over the center line and struck an east-bound Ford Windstar mini-van.
Police identified the driver of the Focus as 22-year-old Zachary Michalski, of Elizabethton, and the driver of the Windstar as 48-year-old Irene Vines, of Johnson City.
Both Michalski and Vines had to be extricated from the vehicles. They were both transported to the Johnson City Medical Center along with a female passenger from the mini-van, identified as 67-year-old Shirley Carver.
Elizabethton Police Department Cpl. Doug Combs said it is not yet known why the driver of the Focus crossed into oncoming traffic.
“Impairment may be a factor, we are still looking into that,” Combs said.
The investigation is ongoing and charges are pending, he added.
Traffic was backed up in both directions on West Elk Avenue due to the accident. A detour around the crash also created traffic congestion on West G Street.