A 39-year-old man told police he was robbed and beaten late Wednesday in a vehicle in North Lawrence.

The man told police he was getting a ride from a group of people about 11:15 p.m. in North Lawrence when a man in the back seat grabbed him and demanded money.

He said he was struck with an unknown sharp object and had his backpack stolen. He went to Lawrence Memorial Hospital for treatment.

A male driver and a female passenger also were in the car. The man had worked earlier in the day with the man who grabbed him, Lawrence Police Department spokeswoman Kim Murphree said, but the victim didn’t know the other two occupants.

The man in the back seat was a white man in his 30s, about 200 pounds, with blue-jean shorts, a T-shirt and high-top tennis shoes. The driver was a white man with light-colored hair, a mustache and a cat tattoo on one arm.

Anyone with information about the case can call the CrimeStoppers hot line at 843-TIPS.