AUBURN – A New Gloucester man was charged with driving to endanger after his car struck a minivan head-on on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge on Wednesday night.

Police said several witnesses reported that driver, 21-year-old Joseph Bourret of New Gloucester had been heading into Auburn and passing cars in the breakdown lane moments before the wreck that involved three vehicles.

Three people were hurt and one side of the bridge was shut down because of the 8:15 p.m. crash.

Two women were extricated from their mangled minivan and taken along with another man to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, police said.

The victims were being evaluated at the hospital later Wednesday night.

Police said Bourret was driving toward Auburn near the off ramp at Center Street. After passing in the breakdown lane, he pulled back into traffic and struck a Hyundai driven by 58-year-old Joseph Fisher of Sabattus, traveling in the same direction, police said.

Fisher was not hurt.

Police said Bourret’s Toyota then passed into the lane occupied by traffic moving from Auburn toward Lewiston.

There, his car struck the Pontiac minivan driven by 38-year-old Christine Francois of Lewiston.

The side of the minivan was crushed, trapping Francois and her mother, Helen Scribner, 55, also of Lewiston, inside.

Both women were taken to CMMC to be examined.

Police in Auburn shut down all traffic on that side of the bridge while Lewiston police turned away drivers trying to turn onto the bridge on their end.

The bridge was opened to traffic again shortly before 9 p.m., though it was limited to one lane while fire and public works crews cleaned debris from the road.