The third serious auto accident in less than 24 hours tied up traffic and saw an air ambulance land at the scene north of Oakdale, near the Valley Home Road/Highway 120 intersection.

The incident was reported about 3:45 p.m. Thursday with one vehicle on its side on the highway and one coming to rest near the intersection of Valley Home Road.

CHP, Sheriff’s Department, Fire Department and Oak Valley Ambulance personnel were all on scene and an air ambulance was also called in.

Traffic leaving Oakdale northbound on Highway 120 was diverted onto Valley Home Road while southbound traffic was diverted on to the frontage road and exited just past the accident scene onto the highway.

The extent of injuries was unknown and CHP officers on scene were working to determine how the accident occurred.

It was the third accident in and around the Oakdale area in less than 24 hours; a serious injury accident at Stearns and Highway 108/120 near the Oakdale Golf and Country Club that occurred shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday evening forced traffic to be diverted and sent four people to area hospitals while a Thursday morning crash, about 8:30 a.m., near Kennedy Road and Highway 108/120 outside Knights Ferry resulted in one fatality.