A car southbound on the Seward Highway late Wednesday crashed into a tractor-trailer stopped at a construction zone near Portage, closing the highway for hours.
Anchorage police said a man driving a 1997 Ford Taurus hit the truck near Mile 77.5 of the highway, just over a mile from the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
The tractor-trailer was stopped at the direction of construction crews when the car rear-ended it. One lane was closed in the area and crews were operating a pilot car for traffic, police said.
The crash was reported to police around 10:30 p.m., said MJ Thim, police spokesman.
Thim said the front of the car went under the truck's trailer, trapping the driver. A crane was used to lift the trailer off the car to get the driver out. He had life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police have not released the car driver's name. He was flown from the crash scene to a hospital, police said. The truck driver was not injured.
There were no passengers in either vehicle, Thim said.
Both lanes of the highway were reopened by 4:50 a.m. Thursday.
Thim said police are continuing to investigate the collision.