One person was killed and two others transported to hospitals after a wreck involving a tractor-trailer and a van early Monday morning on Interstate 85 southbound at the Dry Pond Road exit in Jefferson.

The tractor-trailer struck the van and came to rest 24 feet in the air on top of trees in between the interstate and Bill Wright Road, according to authorities.

David Philbeck, 57, of Shelby, N.C., was the driver of the tractor-trailer who was killed, according to Georgia State Patrol. Jackson County EMS Director Steve Nichols said it took emergency crews an hour and 45 minutes to get Philbeck out of the truck after he was partially ejected from the vehicle. He was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville in critical condition and died there from his injuries, Nichols said.

A male who was in the van was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville in serious condition, according to Nichols, and a female was transported to Northridge Medical Center in Commerce with moderate injuries.

The collision slowed traffic for several hours, Nichols said.

State patrol did not release the names of the two people in the van who were injured.