The lorry then crashed into a house in Bolney Road, Ansty, West Sussex. The cottage's occupants were unhurt, but the building has structural damage.
A 72-year-old man who was driving a VW sustained serious injuries. The other drivers were also taken to hospital.
The A272 Bolney Road was closed at the junction with Bishops Lane and Pickwell Lane until the early hours, following the crash on Saturday afternoon.
Ricky, the owner of the property - who did not want to give his full name - told the BBC he had only just finished renovating the house.
"We started in September and finished it on Saturday morning, and now we've got to start all over again.
"The downstairs is wrecked and the front top room is also damaged."
He said his wife's grandparents, who are in their 90s, were in the property at the time and were very "shaken up".
"Luckily they managed to get out... a few cuts and bruises but otherwise OK," he said.

Stormont has so far not put in place changes to benefits that have been implemented in other parts of the UK.
This has led to fines from the government.
Justin Welby told BBC Radio Ulster that there should be extra help to assist people here out of poverty.
"Should Northern Ireland itself be a special case?" he said.
"Yes it probably should, although not as a basket case or a charity case, but as a recognition of what has gone wrong in the past."
Secretary of State Theresa Villiers said the government continued to recognise Northern Ireland's special circumstances.
"That is why public spending per head is 23% higher here than the UK average," she said.
"When it comes to welfare reform Northern Ireland has much to gain from replacing a failed system that traps far too many people into dependency with a modern system that ensures work always pays."
The Northern Ireland parties had agreed on a welfare reform deal in December but Sinn FÃ©in withdrew its support in March.
Inter-party talks in Northern Ireland began in September in a bid to resolve the current political crisis at Stormont.
The two key issues being discussed are the impasse over welfare reform and paramilitary activity.

The 26-year-old had been scheduled to play Louisa Chirico of the United States in round three on Wednesday, but pulled out during the warm-ups.
Belarusian Azarenka said she will have medical tests before deciding whether to play in Rome before the French Open, which starts on 22 May.
Her departure means the top five seeds are out of the Spanish tournament.
Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza exited in previous rounds while fifth seed Petra Kvitova lost 6-3 6-4 to Australia's Daria Gavrilova on Wednesday.
Azarenka, who had recently won titles at Indian Wells and Miami, said she "tweaked'' her back during her opening Madrid match against Laura Robson and that the pain persisted during her second round victory over Alize Cornet.
She follows world number world 13 Lucie Safarova - who had to withdraw earlier in the week with food poisoning - and British number one Johanna Konta who retired in the first round with a respiratory illness.
The men's event also lost Roger Federer - the world number three another player out with a back injury.
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A motorist was seriously injured in a crash involving a lorry and two cars.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said he believes Northern Ireland should be treated as a special case when it comes to the issue of welfare reform.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Fourth seed Victoria Azarenka has joined the list of Madrid Open withdrawals with a back injury.