A passenger in a garbage truck, operated by a Tamaqua man, was ejected from it after it collided with a tractor trailer rig on Tuesday.

State police at Hazleton said the crash occurred at 3:33 p.m. along Interstate 81 near mile marker 140.9 in Hazle Township, Luzerne County.Troopers said Peter Lengyel, 54, of Tamaqua, was driving a 2003 Peterbilt garbage truck and merging onto Interstate 81 from the ramp when his truck struck the rear of a tractor trailer rig operated southbound by Christian Collin, 40, of Prescott, Ontario, Canada.Upon impact a 27-year-old male passenger from Frackville, was ejected and dragged down the road for about 41 feet. Lengyel then went off onto the right berm and struck the guide rail traveling 122 feet along the rail before coming to a stop. After impact Collin traveled three-tenths of a mile and came to a stop on the right berm of the road.The Frackville man, who was not identified by troopers, was flown from the scene by a medical helicopter to an unnamed trauma center.Lengyel and another passenger, Christopher M. Brown, 33, of Shenandoah, were taken to the Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton Campus, for treatment of minor injuries. Collin was not injured.Troopers said Lengyel will be cited for the crash.