When the Jericho Fire Department received an alarm at approximately 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday for a vehicle accident involving an overturned tractor-trailer they had no idea of the severity until first units responded.

"The first unit gave us additional information when they arrived that a tractor-trailer had turned over and possibly landed on top of some vehicles with victims trapped inside the cars," said Jericho Fire Department Chief John Lottes.

According to Lottes, a dump tractor-trailer carrying scrap iron was attempting to negotiate a right turn from Brush Hollow Road onto east bound Jericho Turnpike. The load shifted and it caused the trailer to topple over spilling the truck and its contents onto the six cars that were waiting in the westbound lanes to turn left, directly landing on top of two cars, trapping drivers in both of them, said Lottes.

Once at the scene, the Jericho Fire Department, assisted by multiple units from the Nassau County Police Department ambulance and the Hicksville, Westbury and Syosset Fire Departments, began extracting victims from the cars.

"That intersection is terrible. There is a shotgun effect out there and people come at you from all directions," said Owen Magee, public information officer for the Hicksville Fire District.

"The remainder of our operation at that point was spent extracting the one driver that was pinned in the car underneath the truck and debris," said Lottes. "That was an extensive operation. We had a county helicopter and transported him to the medical center once he was removed. It was serious, but he was conversant and remained conscious the whole time the operation was going on."

Of the seven people injured in the accident, three were taken to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow and the other four were taken to Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola. The driver of the truck, a resident of Staten Island, was not injured. "It was a good morning for us since no one succumbed to their injuries, and although a bad accident, it was a good outcome with no fatalities," said Lottes.

According to police, Motor Carrier Safety Units issued eight summonses to the driver, including three for being 6,000 pounds or three tons over the allowable weight limit of 80,000 pounds or 40 tons, as well as for equipment and failing to have an up-to-date inspection.

According to an officer at the scene, another contributing factor to the accident was "unsafe speed." According to the officer's determination, the truck was going too fast for that specific turn, and although not necessarily speeding, it was too fast for the existing conditions.

Also assisting the Jericho Fire Department were Plainview and Syosset - an engine from Plainview and an ambulance from Syosset were standing by covering the Jericho Fire District to provide coverage while Jericho was committed to the operation.

Victoria A. Caruso contributed to this story.