PORTSMOUTH — Three people were seriously injured in a four-vehicle accident on West Main Road at Hedly Street Thursday morning, Jan. 17, police said.

Police responded to the scene around 7:40 a,.m. after receiving a report of a multi-vehicle accident.

According to Detective Lt. Michael Arnold, a 24-year-old man was operating a black Dodge Durango northbound on West Main Road when he lost control of his vehicle, swerving into the southbound lane and colliding head on with another vehicle.

“This set off a chain of events in which the Dodge Durango also struck two other vehicles in the northbound lane,” Lt. Arnold stated in an e-mail, adding the other two vehicles sustained minor damage.

The Portsmouth Fire Department responded and had to extract the 24-year-old from his vehicle due to extensive damage, he said. 

Three people were taken to local hospitals with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, Lt. Arnold said. 

The roadway was shut down for about one hour.

It was the second serious accident in the area within a week. On Jan. 11, two drivers were injured when their cars collided in a rollover crash on West Main Road at Corys Lane, slightly north of Thursday’s accident.