Two people were extricated from a van after a crash Friday afternoon that slowed down traffic on Kingshighway for about an hour.

Five people were injured in the accident, which occurred when a northbound Chevrolet Tahoe collided with a Chrysler Town and Country van that was making a left turn out of Cape Primary Care, 1702 N. Kingshighway, witnesses and first responders said.

Two people, including a small child, already had escaped from the van by the time firefighters arrived, said battalion chief Mark Starnes of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department.

Two others had to be extricated from the van, Starnes said.

The Tahoe driver, who had a possible leg fracture, did not require extrication but had to be helped out of the vehicle, Starnes said.

He said all the occupants of the van were conscious and alert.

Cpl. Kevin Eudy of the Cape Girardeau Police Department described their injuries as "moderate to severe" but said none appeared to be life-threatening.

All parties involved in the crash were taken to Saint Francis Medical Center, he said.

Amber Torrey of Portageville, Mo., said she saw the crash in her rearview mirror just as she made a right turn out of the medical clinic's parking lot.

"It flew in the air and landed on its hood. ... I've never seen anything like that in person," she said.

Veronica Torrey, who was in Amber Torrey's vehicle, said nurses rushed out of the clinic to help.

"By the time we got pulled in, nurses and stuff had already ran over there," she said.

Felecia Blanton, marketing director for Saint Francis Medical Center, confirmed the occupants of the van were patients at the clinic.

She declined to release their names or conditions, citing patient confidentiality rules, but she said the nurses at the clinic knew them and were able to notify their relatives.

"They knew the family, and they were able to come out and help the family," Blanton said.

The accident still was under investigation Friday afternoon, but Eudy said the Tahoe was in the left lane when it hit the van. He did not know how fast it was going at the time, but he said there was no sign of braking.

He said the call came in about 12:30 p.m.

Emergency workers cleared the scene within an hour.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

1702 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO