A car accident at the corner of Lincoln Way and Duff Avenue brought traffic to a standstill and sent three people to the hospital around 6 p.m. Thursday.

Tracy Tope, first responder and EMT from Nevada, said although the accident happened right in front of her she didn’t witness the actual collision.

A Dodge Chrysler and a Scion collided, pushing both toward the eastern side of the intersection where the Scion collided against the curb.

Thomas Young and Garrett Chitty, both of Ames, were inside Butch’s Amoco-BP, 100 E. Lincoln Way, at the time of the accident.

“Basically, we caught the very end of it,” Young said. “We got out here as the Scion was still spinning.”

Young said he thought the Scion was traveling north on Duff Avenue and hit the right front fender of the van, causing the Scion to spin into the curb. Young didn’t know the immediate direction the van was heading.

Chitty and Young said they saw the woman driving the Scion get out of the vehicle after the accident, appearing to not have major injuries.

“It looked like there was a baby in the ambulance,” Chitty said.

At least three Ames Police cruisers were on scene to direct traffic by 6:10 p.m., as well as a fire truck, an ambulance and two towtrucks from Butch’s Towing, 100 E. Lincoln Way.

Tope said the two people in the Scion and one person in the Dodge were taken to Mary Greeley Medical Center, 1111 Duff Ave.

“They only had minor injuries, they were definitely non-life threatening,” she said.