Five people taken to the hospital following a three-vehicle crash

FAIRVIEW ALPHA, La. — Five people have been taken to the hospital following a three-vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon near the International Paper Red River Mill, according to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's Office. The crash has closed state Highway 480. Motorists are encouraged to use an alternate route. The injured people are believed to have non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff's office said. State Police Troop E is investigating the cause of the crash that involved an 18-wheeler and two passenger vehicles, one of which overturned and landed on its top. Natchitoches Parish sheriff's deputies, Natchitoches Parish Fire District No. 9 and multiple Natchitoches Regional Medical Center EMS Units were on the scene. It's the second crash today in the parish involving injuries. Around 8 a.m., two people were taken to the hospital after two vehicles collided on state Highway 6 near Shady Grove Road. They also had non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff's office said.