NANTOU, Taiwan - Three persons were killed and three were injured after a gravel truck's driver lost control and slammed into two vehicles on National Freeway No. 6 yesterday morning.

The truck driver suffered minor injuries, said police.

Police said that the collision began when a gravel truck driving toward Caotun suddenly hit the back of a sedan.

The sedan then flipped over onto the other side of the freeway.

The accident happened around 9:30 a.m. yesterday near Caotun Township in Nantou County.

The gravel truck driver Chen chin-wen, 41, then lost control of the truck and drove into the wrong side of the road.

An incoming Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) was instantly struck by the truck.

According to Chen, he was on the way to pick up gravel at Chi Chi Township in Nantou County.

He said he lost control of the truck after its tires blew out near Caotun Township.

The three people in the SUV that died are Shih-Hung-chang, 46; Tsai Yung-sung, 56 and Yanghsu Teng-mei, 70.

The other SUV passengers, who all suffered injuries, are Lu Chiu-yen, 51; Chang Chien-kuo, 56 and Yang Wang-kuang, 74, according to police reports.

The sedan driver, Cho Hsiao-chung, 25, was injured in the left eye but is in stable condition as of yesterday, said police.

All eight people injured were sent to Puli Christian Hospital, THC Hospital and Yumin Hospital.

Police are still investigating the cause of the accident as of yesterday.

This article was first published in The China Post/Asia News Network.