An attempt to pass slow-moving highway traffic resulted in a head-on collision that left a Ceres man hospitalized Thursday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Shannon Stiers, spokesman for the CHP Los Banos Office, said at about 4 p.m., a Honda Civic was traveling northbound on Highway 165 south of Wolfson Road when the driver decided to switch lanes. Stiers said the Civic was part of a procession of vehicles using the southbound lane to pass cars ahead of them.

Stiers said the driver of the Civic, a 27-year-old Ceres man, was unable to re-enter the northbound lane before colliding with a big rig with a trailer attached.

The Ceres man was ejected from his vehicle upon impact.

“We couldn’t determine whether he was wearing his seat belt or not because the car was so damaged in the accident,” Stiers said.

The Ceres man, whose name has not been released, was airlifted to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, where he received treatment for major injuries.

Stiers said the driver of the big rig, a 28-year-old Modesto man, was unharmed in the incident.

The crash slowed traffic on Highway 165 for a couple of hours. Los Banos Police was first on the scene and secured the area until CHP arrived. City police issued an online alert for motorists to avoid the area if possible on Thursday afternoon.