A 9-year-old girl was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was struck by a car.

The collision happened just before 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 23, at State Road 4 east of County Road 35 when a 56-year-old Sturgis man traveling eastbound struck the girl who entered the roadway in front of him, according to Elkhart County Sheriff’s investigators.

The driver attempted to swerve out of the way of the pedestrian, but the front passenger side of his vehicle struck the girl, causing her to flip up onto the vehicle and then onto the road several feet away.

The pedestrian was transported by helicopter to Lutheran Hospital with multiple internal and external injuries.

Factors that led to the crash are still under investigation.