The man, who was heading north about 6.30am, was returning to the left-hand lane after overtaking another car.

But he moved too far left and hit a car stopped in the emergency lane.

The force of the crash flung the driver of the utility several metres from the impact site, which was north of the McKoy Street intersection and near the Twin City truck centre.

There was a woman, man and child in the stationary vehicle, a red Nissan Pulsar hatch, at the time of the crash.

Firefighters attended and police closed one of the northern lanes.

It was reopened two hours later.

Wodonga Highway Patrol’s Sgt Cameron Roberts said all four people involved in the smash were lucky to be alive, especially the man was thrown from the ute.

“This man is certainly in the minority because those who are ejected from a vehicle usually don't fare too well,” he said.

“We are looking into this man’s lack of (seat belt) restraint.

"He is still in hospital but his injuries are not serious.”

The occupants of the Nissan were released from hospital late in the morning after being checked and treated for minor injuries.

Sgt Roberts said the incident served as clear warning for motorists to give thought about where to stop on freeways.

“Although the emergency lane is there to stop in, where this happened would have to be one of the riskiest places to stop,” he said.

“There’s only a small distance from you and another vehicle passing at up to 110km/h.

“If a driver goes slightly over the fog line, you can be hit.”

Sgt Roberts encouraged drivers to leave more space between them and traffic.

“As long as they are not about to start a fire with their exhaust, they should move further over,” he said.