A three-vehicle collision at one of Turlock’s busiest intersections sent two young children to the hospital with serious injuries Wednesday afternoon.

Two Medi-Flight helicopters landed at the Turlock Transit Center and swooped the two young girls off to area hospitals with what were described as major injuries, said Turlock Police spokesman Sgt. Neil Cervenka.

The collision happened just after noon at the intersection of Golden State Boulevard and Fulkerth Road. Several callers reported the collision to the Turlock Police Department, which responded to the scene, along with the Turlock Fire Department and American Medical Response.

Cervenka said the police department’s Major Accident Investigation Team would be conducting the investigation into the collision. The intersection was closed from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The woman driving a Volvo with the two children was also injured and was taken by ambulance to an area hospital.

A man driving an Acura had minor injuries, but refused treatment at the scene.

The police department has not released the names or ages of either driver.

Sargis Mirza, 65, was driving a Toyota pickup, which was the third vehicle involved in the collision. Mirza said he was not injured in the crash.

Mirza said he was stopped at a red light on Golden State Boulevard, headed into the downtown area. He didn’t know the exact details of what caused the crash, but said the Acura struck the Volvo, which then spun several times before hitting his vehicle.

“They were both moving very fast,’ Mirza said.

As of Thursday, the police investigation had not determined which direction of travel the Volvo and Acura had been in before the collision, nor the speed each vehicle was going.

Mirza said he and a couple of other individuals pulled open the doors on the Volvo and cut the restraints of the child seats to get the children out. The age of the two young girls is not known at this time. Fire crews arrived on scene within three minutes of the initial report and found bystanders administering aid to the patients. Emergency personnel took control of the scene and established landing zones for the air ambulances, which were dispatched immediately after the call was received.

One young girl was flown to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and the second was transported by air to Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera. There were no updates available for the condition of the two children.

Both the Acura and the Volvo sustained major front end and side damage.

At this point, there have been no arrests or citations issued for the collision. The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact Turlock Police Officer Michael Simbalenko at 668-5550 ext. 6723.