SUTALLEE — The Georgia State Patrol continues to investigate the cause of an accident that sent three people to area hospitals Monday afternoon.

The three individuals, one man and two women, were injured after the burgundy Ford Explorer they were riding in left the highway and flipped several times before landing down an embankment.

Tim Cavender, spokesman for Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services, said the medical status of each of the victims has not been released.

Firefighters and emergency medical crews responded to the accident, which happened just west of Cherokee County Fire Station 13 at 2833 Knox Bridge Highway west of Canton.

A 30-year-old female passenger was found lying on the ground outside the sports utility vehicle and was taken by ambulance to WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta with possible fractured ribs and a possible back injury, Cavender said.

“It is uncertain at this time if she was ejected or got out of the automobile on her own,” Cavender said.

The driver, a 28-year-old male, and another passenger, a 38-year-old female, were entrapped in the car and had to be extricated by rescue crews.

Cavender said the driver complained of severe abdominal pains and he was also taken to Kennestone.

The 38-year-old female passenger had an eight-inch laceration to her right leg and fractures to her right elbow and was life-flighted to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Both lanes of the highway were blocked until the driver and passengers were removed and taken to area hospitals.

Cavender also said it’s unknown whether drugs or alcohol were involved at this time.