New York: 5 injured after pickup truck hits DOT vehicle on Southern State Parkway

Five people were injured Thursday afternoon in a fiery crash on the Southern State Parkway.

State police say a pickup truck slammed into the back of a state Department of Transportation truck near Exit 39. Details surrounding what led up to the crash are under investigation. Four DOT employees and one person in the other vehicle were taken to the hospital for treatment. The injuries in Thursday's crash are all said to not be life-threatening. A DOT spokesperson acknowledged that it could have been much worse.

"We've had almost 70 workers injured this year, about a third of them have been serious, on the job," says DOT spokesperson Stephen Canzoneri. "So it is a serious situation when you have drivers that are distracted, that are not slowing down when you see highway crews on the side of the road."

The crash comes just a week after state police and the DOT announced "Operation Hard Hat" to enforce the New York's Move Over Law, whuch was enacted in 2011. The law requires drivers to slow down and change lanes for emergency and maintenance vehicles with flashing lights. points on their driver's license and a fine