A 59-year-old Ottawa man was injured Sunday night after he hit a cow, which was already dead, laying in the roadway on U.S. 59 Highway, between Lawrence and Ottawa.

The accident happened shortly before 8 p.m. while Gary Bateman was driving south, 3.5 miles north of Ottawa, or about 6 miles south of the Douglas County line.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the dead cow had already been struck twice before Bateman hit it. Bateman was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.