ORLANDO, Fla. -- A pregnant woman was injured early Friday when one of a series of multiple-vehicle crashes on Interstate 4 opened her car like a "sardine can," according to police.

Authorities said a woman apparently having a miscarriage was rushing to a hospital and slammed into a police car on I-4 near Conroy Road. The crash set off a chain-reaction on Orlando's slick roads.

"In total there were nine vehicles involved in three accidents," Local 6's Tiffany Tift said.

Police said the pileup began early Friday when a van ran into a car, apparently causing another vehicle hit a guardrail.

As the officers tried to help the crash victims, two cars hit a police cruiser as the officer was sitting inside.

One of the two vehicles that hit the police car had the pregnant woman inside and ended up trapping the officer inside.

"He slammed his brakes and we hit him and ended up hitting the police car," a driver told Tift. "The next thing you know, the car got opened up like a sardine can. They did not let me see her and took her out of the car."

The woman was transported to a hospital.

The officer was rescued from the vehicle and did not suffer serious injuries. There were no other serious injuries in connection with the other crashes in the area.

The road was closed early Friday but was reopened for rush hour traffic.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.