CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake man was seriously injured when he was hit by a vehicle late last week.

The crash occurred at 10:35 p.m. on Thursday, according to Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department.

Hobbs said 71-year-old James Gettle of Lower Lake was driving his 1998 Toyota pickup on Lakeshore Drive near the Valero gas station when 63-year-old Chris Bender ran out into the roadway.

Gettle's pickup hit Bender, who Hobbs said sustained major head injuries.

A Lake County Fire Protection District ambulance transported Bender to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, where he was picked up by an air ambulance and flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Hobbs said.

Hobbs said the last update police had received on Bender's condition was that, while seriously hurt and remaining in the hospital for some time, he was expected to make a full recovery.

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