A woman was injured after she was ejected in a two-vehicle wreck in front of Mount Berry Square mall around 7 p.m. tonight. The southbound lanes of the highway were shut down for about 30 minutes while emergency crews worked at the scene.

According to Pat Cleveland of the Rome Police Department:

A black 2006 Ford Explorer driven by 61-year-old Phil Ray of Rome was traveling north on U.S. 27. While changing lanes, he apparently collided with a white 1999 Dodge Caravan driven by 60-year-old Walter Willingham of Rome, which was also traveling northbound.

The impact on the rear quarterpanel caused the Caravan to swerve, and it eventually flipped at least two times before coming to rest in the turn lane in front of the movie theater at Mount Berry Square mall.

A female passenger in the Caravan was ejected in the crash and transported by ambulance to Redmond Regional Medical Center. EMTs at the scene said she was unconscious for several minutes and was also complaining of back and hip pain.

Cleveland identified the injured woman as 48-year-old Karen Willingham. She was still being treated in the Redmond ER late Thursday night.

Cleveland said Ray was cited for failure to yield the right of way.

While emergency crews were on the scene, northbound traffic on the highway was reduced to one lane, while both southbound lanes were blocked. Drivers cut through the parking lots of several closed restaurants to get over to Old Summerville Road to circumvent the wreck scene.

Both vehicles were removed and the highway was reopened to traffic around 7:40 p.m.