A 26-year-old Elkhart man was taken to the hospital with serious injuries after he was struck by a vehicle.

The collision happened around 1:15 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1, in the 29000 block of County Road 12, according to the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department.

The 59-year-old Elkhart woman who struck the victim told investigators the man suddenly appeared in the roadway in front of her vehicle and she had no time to avoid hitting him, the sheriff’s department reported.

A witness who was driving behind the woman who struck the man said both were driving at a normal speed, and that he saw a man near the south side of the roadway and saw the vehicle in front of him strike the person, according to the sheriff’s department.

A second witness who was driving westbound said she saw what she believed were two males nearing the south edge of the roadway. She saw the driver and the other witness traveling eastbound and attempted to warn them of the subjects by flashing her lights but as she passed, she saw brake lights and believed that one of the males had been struck. She says she stopped and saw one male lying on the ground.

A third witness was in a yard on County Road 12 and saw the victim get struck. She stated the victim is a relative and was causing problems and walked out into the roadway before the crash and was then struck, according to the sheriff’s department.

The man suffered head injuries, a broken pelvis, broken leg and lacerated kidney.