Emergency personnel responded about 9:20 a.m. Thursday to a five-vehicle chain reaction crash with injuries on northbound Route 3 (Admiral Parkway) at North Main Street in Columbia.

Multiple ambulances were called to the scene to assist Columbia police and fire department personnel.

Police said a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse driven by Nichole Cordray, 34, of Waterloo, was driving north on Route 3 at the intersection with North Main Street and rear-ended a 2019 Volkswagen Atlas driven by Paige Kuhlman, 30, of Waterloo, which was stopped behind three vehicles at the red light. Subsequent vehicles who were struck as a result of the initial collision were a 2020 Chevy Trax driven by Betty Nelson, 77, of Waterloo, a 2003 Hyundai Sonata driven by Georgia Small, 65, of Waterloo, and a 2012 Ford Focus driven by Cory Mollet, 23, of Red Bud.

Cordray, who was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, did not require medical transport, nor did four young passengers in her SUV. Nelson, Small and Mollet were all transported by ambulances to Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis County. Neither Kuhlman nor her young passenger required hospitalization.