ESSEX — A three-car accident on Main Street sent one man to the hospital with minor injuries Thursday.

It also led to a second accident, when a driver rear-ended a vehicle as he was checking out the first crash while driving by, according to police.

Police said the 60-year-old driver injured in the first accident was traveling east about 4:45 p.m., when he crossed the center line, striking two other vehicles, which were both traveling west. Police said the man, who may have fallen asleep at the wheel, was cited for impeded driving. The driver was transported to Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, seeking treatment for his minor injuries, and his car was towed from the scene.

No one else involved in the accident reported any injuries.

Then a 44-year-old driver, watching police clear the accident scene, struck the vehicle in front of him, according to police. The man’s car was towed from the scene, but he and the driver in front of him were unharmed, police said.

An Essex police officer went to a Rocky Hill Road residence in search of a driver who was accused of striking a vehicle in Gloucester, after Gloucester police alerted Essex police Thursday about 8:30 p.m., Essex police said.

A woman, operating a vehicle registered to the Rocky Hill Road address, said she would call Gloucester police and turn herself in, according to police. Essex police notified Gloucester police.

Police cited a moped driver Thursday for driving without a helmet and at a greater speed than is reasonable on a moped.

The moped driver, a 27-year-old Hamilton man, was stopped on Western Avenue while driving in the center of the road, after police said the man appeared to attempt evading them. Police said the Hamilton man told the officers he could have outrun the police.

Marjorie Nesin can be reached at 978-283-7000 x3451, or mnesin@gloucestertimes.com.