Man critically injured in pedestrian-vehicle accident on Tennessee Street

Lawrence police responded about 1:26 a.m. Sunday to an accident involving a pedestrian and two vehicles in the 1600 block of Tennessee.

Police Capt. Bill Cory confirmed that a pedestrian, a non-Lawrence resident, was struck by a vehicle while walking on Tennessee Street. The victim was taken by ambulance to KU Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., with critical injuries. A helicopter was unable to fly because of weather conditions.

Sgt. Trent McKinley, a Lawrence police spokesman, said the pedestrian is 18 years old and more information regarding the incident, including names and specific circumstances, likely will be released Monday morning.

Blake Albrecht of Olathe was one of the first people to respond to the accident. He said that he was in a house across the street when he heard a loud crash. He went outside, where he saw the victim pinned between two Ford Explorers. The driver of the first vehicle pulled forward unpinning the victim.

“I grabbed a hold of him and tried to keep his head flat,” Albrecht said.

It was unclear at the time whether the victim was attempting to enter the back of the first vehicle, or if the vehicle had stopped in the road.

Cory said that it would take a while before the sequence of events was clear because many of the witnesses were intoxicated. There were multiple house parties in the area.

“We had to deal with a large intoxicated crowd,” he said.

It was unclear at the time whether occupants of the two vehicles suffered injuries. It was also unclear if alcohol played a role in the accident.