SUDBURY -- A 17-year-old driver has been charged after he drove across the centre line on Highway 144 south of Chelmsford and hit an oncoming dump truck head-on, police say.

Emergency crews responded to the crash on the Highway 144 bypass at 9:50 a.m. Tuesday.

Provincial police said the teen, from Cascaden Township near Onaping, was driving north in sports utility vehicle when it crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a southbound dump truck.

The teen, the only person in the SUV, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He has been charged with careless driving.

The dump truck driver was not injured.

Const. Michelle Coulombe tells CTV News if it wasn't for the dump truck driver's quick action to avoid the collision, the injuries would have been much worse, if not fatal.

One lane of traffic was closed for a short time for cleanup.