Three people suffered life-threatening injuries after an accident on Interstate 55 Friday afternoon involving ten vehicles.

According to the preliminary investigation, a 53-year old Lewistown man was driving a semi north near Edwardsville when he briefly took his eyes off the road to retrieve a bottle of tea, causing his truck to strike the rear of a passenger vehicle. The collision caused a chain reaction involving eight additional vehicles.

Seven passengers were transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, and three passengers were taken by helicopter to Saint Louis area hospitals with life-threatening injuries.

The accident occurred at 1:43 p.m. Friday. The northbound lanes were closed for several hours while the scene was being cleared.

The accident remains under investigation by the state police. This was the second accident in as many days and third in less than a month happening on Interstate 55 between mileposts 23 and 33.