MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Former Alabama and NFL quarterback Jeff Rutledge was in critical condition with unspecified injuries early Friday after the car he was driving went under a truck.

The crash occurred at about 2:45 p.m. Thursday on Interstate 40. Rutledge, 47, was airlifted to Regional Medical Center in Memphis, said Beth Tucker Womack, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Safety.

Witnesses said Rutledge was traveling eastbound in the left lane when traffic neared a construction zone, Womack said. He reportedly lost control of his 2003 Toyota Camry and veered into the right lane, then back into the left lane, where his car went under a large truck.

The driver of the Exide Battery company truck, William Lynn, 30, was not injured.

Rutledge, of Brentwood, is the head football coach at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. He played at Alabama under Bear Bryant from 1975-78, and had a 12-year career in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants and Washington Redskins.

He is also a former assistant coach at Vanderbilt University.