Two people were injured Thursday afternoon in a wreck on State Route 3 when a vehicle was rear-ended and went airborne, striking another car driving in the opposite direction.

Fredericksburg Police spokeswoman Natatia Blessoe said both westbound lanes and one eastbound lane were closed for an hour as emergency personnel attended to the victims.

She said the crash happened at about 2:40 p.m. when the driver of a Mazda Protege braked hard to avoid crashing into the rear of a Dodge Durango, but it caused the vehicle behind it, a Ford Explorer, to hit the Mazda and send it careening into the rear of the Durango. The Durango then struck a Chevrolet Cavalier.

"The Mazda glanced off the Durango and rotated through the air into the path of oncoming vehicles. A Toyota Scion traveling westbound was
struck by the airborne Mazda. The Mazda came to rest on its roof in the westbound lanes of Route 3," Bledsoe said.

Janine Sweeton, 73, of Locust Drive was driving the Mazda and she was charged with failure to give full time and attention. The drive of the Ford Explorer, Marcello Lindo, 32, of Fredericksburg, was charged with following too closely.

Bledsoe said the driver of the Cavalier and Sweeton were taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.