A 20-year-old Whitehorse man has been charged with impaired driving after his pickup truck crossed the centre line on the Alaska Highway last Thursday night. That resulted in a collision which seriously injured his passenger.

The Dodge Ram was travelling just south of the Kopper King pub at around 10:30 p.m. when it crossed the centre line, spun, and the passenger side was struck by an oncoming Pontiac Grand Am, RCMP Sgt. Don Rogers said today.

Police will not release the name of the man until he has appeared in court.

A 19-year-old passenger in the truck had to be extricated from the vehicle by emergency personnel, and was taken to Whitehorse General Hospital in serious condition.

His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Rogers said.

The two occupants of the other vehicle were treated on the scene and released.

Rogers said the driver of the truck was not seriously injured.

The highway was closed from Hamilton Boulevard to the Kopper King for about three hours following the crash. An RCMP collision reconstructionist attended the scene.

Rogers said it was snowing at the time, but he would not comment on whether that was a contributing factor to the crash.