A 53-year-old Lawrence man was transported by air ambulance to a Topeka hospital Tuesday afternoon after being struck by a truck near the intersection of U.S. Highway 24-59 and N. 1900 Road.

William Q. Martin Jr. was at St. Francis Health Center on Tuesday evening. No information on his condition was available.

Stephanie Wiggins, a Lawrence resident who works in the area, said she called authorities about 3:30 p.m. after spotting a man walking in the road and forcing vehicles to swerve around him.

“As he walked down the highway, he got closer and closer and more in the highway,” she said.

A sheriff’s deputy responded to the scene about 3:35 p.m., said Lt. John Eickhorn of the Kansas Highway Patrol. Minutes later, the deputy called to report the pedestrian had been hit by a vehicle, Eickhorn said.

A witness said Martin rushed out into the path of oncoming vehicles before the accident occurred. Glenn Wise, of Baldwin City, said he was driving south on U.S. 24-59 when he swerved to miss the pedestrian. He said the vehicle behind him struck the man.

“The cop was talking to him right here,” Wise said from the scene, pointing to the southwestern corner of the intersection. “He darted out in front of me. I locked up the brakes. I took the ditch. … The truck behind me wasn’t as fortunate as I was.”

Wise said it appeared the man was running from the deputy.

Martin was struck by a 1985 Ford F-150 pickup truck with a boat and trailer driven by Richard R. McDow, 55, of Lawrence. Brian Michael Fadden, 31, was a passenger in the truck. Both men, who were wearing seat belts, were not injured in the accident.

Wiggins said she first spotted a man about 8 a.m. Tuesday acting strangely in the parking lot of the nearby Burger King, 1100 N. Third St., as she entered the drive-through.

“He was just inches from my car as I was going around,” she said.

Wiggins said she recognized the same man Tuesday afternoon when he walked into the driveway of her workplace in the 1800 block of East 1450 Road.

“He just wasn’t acting right,” she said. “He was right on the edge of the highway, a dangerous spot to be.”