A woman was seriously injured and traffic towards Melbourne was brought to a standstill after a three-way crash involving two trucks and a car on the Calder Freeway.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said a B-Double truck carrying a large number of cattle collided with a hazardous materials truck about 6.30pm near Taradale.

A car then crashed into the trucks.

The female driver of the car was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The male driver of the hazardous materials trucks was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries while the male driver of the B-Double, was uninjured and is helping police with their inquiries.

One cow died in the incident.