RALEIGH, N.C. — An sports utility vehicle crashed into a tractor-trailer on the Raleigh Beltline, sending three people to the hospital.

The accident took place 10:15 a.m. Monday on the outer Beltline between Yonkers Road and New Bern Avenue exits.

Raleigh police say a Dodge Durango driven by Anthony Carlman Kyser lost control and hit the tractor-trailer driven by Marvin Joseph Berry, causing both vehicles to hit the median. Upon impact with the median, the diesel tank on the tractor-trailer burst into flames.

Anthony Broughton, who had stopped to help direct traffic after the collision, was injured when the wreckage flared.

Ronald Willis, who was driving along the inner Beltline, said he could see the truck driver's face as the incident happened.

"I saw the driver. He was holding onto that wheel and when he hit that wall, it just caved in. That cab was demolished," he said.

Wreckage was scattered across both directions of the Beltline.

Authorities said Berry was taken to the Burn Center at UNC. Kyser and Broughton were taken to WakeMed. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening.

The traffic tie-up stretched for a couple of miles. It took crews nearly six hours to open all lanes of Interstate 440 to traffic.