CUMMING  — A three-vehicle wreck during the Tuesday evening commute sent three women in their 20s to North Fulton Hospital with what authorities described as critical injuries and shut down Ronald Reagan Boulevard at Pendley Road for more than two hours.

The collision occurred about 5 p.m. Authorities said a Ford F150 pickup traveling north on Ronald Reagan rear-ended a BMW at the traffic light at Pendley, pushing it into a Nissan passenger car, which also was stopped.  

The Nissan traveled completely through the intersection, which is southeast of Cumming, but the impact left the pickup imbedded in the BMW.  

Locked together, the pickup and BMW skidded into the crossing and slid sideways before stopping. All three occupants of the BMW — the 24-year-old driver, a 23-year-old front seat passenger and a 22-year-old sitting in a back seat — were trapped inside.

After they were freed by firefighters using hydraulic rescue tools, all three were taken by ambulance to North Fulton Hospital. A helicopter was called but canceled after a short time.

Their last known condition, on Tuesday night, was listed as critical.

The pickup truck driver was not visibly injured, though the 37-year-old was taken to an area hospital to be checked out.

The 43-year-old male Nissan driver was treated on scene for non-life threatening injuries, according to Robin Regan, a spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

The agency is handling the ongoing investigation, from which no arrests or charges had been made as of Wednesday.

However, Regan said speed and distracted driving are factors being considered.

The wreck was the most serious of three that blocked busy roads between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

A semi-truck overturned on Burruss Mill Road between the Bennett Park entrances around the same time Tuesday.

While the park remained accessible and the driver did not appear to be seriously injured, the road was closed for about an hour as crews worked to clean up the area.

A crash involving at least two vehicles closed both southbound lanes of Ga. 400 just south of Exit 13 about 10 a.m. Wednesday.

There were no reported injuries, but in the five to 10 minutes it took the tow truck to pull the overturned trailer from its side on the edge of the road, cars came to a bumper-to-bumper standstill at least to Cumming (Exit 14).

Staff writer Kayla Robins contributed to this article.