Seriously Injured Pedestrian Hospitalized After Being Hit By Car UPDATE

DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, TX -- Southbound lanes of Interstate 35 have been re-opened following a post-collision investigation of the scene.

A pedestrian was hit by a vehicle early Sunday, prompting police to close the portion of highway near 51st Street. The section of road was closed off for several hours as traffic was diverted onto the access road.

Police have since cleared the scene, and traffic is flowing smoothly.

A man in his 20s was hit on the roadway early Sunday morning. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to Austin-Travis County EMS officials.

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From earlier:

DOWNTOWN AUSTIN-UT, TX -- A pedestrian is hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after being hit by a vehicle early Sunday morning.

The incident is just the latest in a string of collisions involving pedestrians that began with the ushering in of a new year.

Austin Travis-County EMS officials said a man in his 20s was hit on Interstate 35 at 51st Street. shortly before 7 a.m. on Sunday. According to media reports, the man was trying to cross the highway on foot when he was struck by a vehicle.

The man was transported to the University Medical Center Brackenridge trauma center with what officials described as “critical, life-threatening” injuries.

Traffic was delayed on the southbound lane of the highway while police investigated the scene.

Several pedestrians have been hit by vehicles this month, usually sustaining serious injuries.

On Jan. 14, a woman in her 20s was hospitalized with serious injuries after being hit by a car on East Riverside in South Austin.

The day before that incident, a man in his 50s suffered serious injuries after being it by a car near the downtown Capitol building.

The string of such incidents, dubbed “auto versus pedestrian” by EMS officials tweeting details from each accident scene, began at the beginning of the month.

On Jan. 1, a man in his 20s also sustained serious injuries after being struck by a vehicle in the 10200 block of FM 812, just south of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.