3 hurt in 7-car pileup in Huntington Station

An accident involving two cars on eastbound Jericho Turnpike sent one crashing into a nearby parking lot - where it smashed into five parked cars, Suffolk County police said.

The chain-reaction crash injured three people - all of them in the first two vehicles - and three dogs had to be rescued from one of the cars.

Fire officials said the three people, both drivers and a passenger in one of the cars, were taken to Huntington Hospital with injuries, none life-threatening. The dogs were uninjured.

The crash occurred at about 11 a.m. Police said a 42-year-old woman was driving in the eastbound left lane in a 2008 Acura when she attempted a righthand turn in front of a 1998 Volvo traveling eastbound in the righthand lane.

The force of the collision sent the Volvo careering into the parking lot of a strip mall that houses Panama Hattie's.

There, the Volvo struck five parked cars - damaging all of them, some significantly.

Volunteers from Huntington Manor Fire Department handled the call. Huntington Community Ambulance transported the three injured.