Three people were injured in the collision on London Road, in Southborough, at about 15:30 BST.
Kent Fire and Rescue said crews used hydraulic cutting equipment to release a man and a woman who were trapped.
Police said a 33-year-old man was arrested on Mount Ephraim, in Tunbridge Wells, a short distance away.
He is being questioned on suspicion of causing injury by dangerous driving.
Seven ambulances attended the scene, including two air ambulances, along with three fire engines.
It is understood none of the injuries sustained in the crash is life-threatening.
Geraldine Vivian, who works in London Road, said: "We saw a massive lorry, like an articulated lorry, come past at speed in the direction towards Tunbridge Wells.
"It hit a car. Massive impact. The car ended up in the railings outside our office."
She added: "We also saw a white van who then cut across to avoid the lorry, up on the pavement - also outside our office.
"We then shot out and then we just saw the carnage further down the road."
Pictures posted on social media show cars on top of one another and wreckage strewn across the road, which is a key route into and out of Tunbridge Wells.
The A26 London Road is closed in both directions between the junctions with Western Road and Speldhurst Road. Motorists have been urged to avoid the area.
A lorry driver has been arrested after a crash involving up to 13 vehicles near Tunbridge Wells left "a scene of carnage and devastation".