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May 30--Two Jan-Care Ambulance personnel and a police officer were injured Friday night when a Sophia Police Department Durango collided with a Jan-Care ambulance, authorities said.
The accident occurred at 9:55 p.m. on Robert C. Byrd Drive in Sophia between Lester Square shopping center and the Sophia interchange of the Coalfields Expressway.
Sophia Police Chief Tim Sweeney said the officer in the Durango pulled out from a parking lot to make a traffic stop and drove into the path of the ambulance. The Durango's lights were off, Sweeney said.
The three people were transported to Raleigh General Hospital, but were later released with no serious injuries, Sweeney added.
"With how bad the wreck looked, we were all just glad that everyone was able to walk away from this accident," Sweeney said. "Right now, no charges are pending."
Traffic was blocked an hour and a half and both vehicles were totaled, Sweeney said.
Sophia police, Lester police, Rhodell police, Mabscott police, the Raleigh County sheriff's office and the Sophia City Fire Department responded.
