She was checking on an animal that she’d hit. Then she was struck by a car.

A woman was seriously injured Wednesday evening while checking under her car for an animal that she had hit, according to Aberdeen police.

The 42-year-old Aberdeen woman was driving a 2013 Ford Focus southbound down Arnold hill about 5 p.m. when she struck a small animal.

“Hearing the animal strike the undercarriage of her vehicle, the woman stopped in the middle of the southbound lane to make sure the animal was no longer entangled beneath the vehicle,” Aberdeen Police Lt. CJ Chastain wrote in a news release.

The woman and her passenger, a 32-year-old Aberdeen woman, got out near Arnold Street and Terrace Avenue to check under the car.

“The 42-year-old knelt down onto her hands and knees, along the driver’s side, to look under her vehicle, when she was struck by a northbound 1997 silver Dodge Stratus,” Chastain wrote.

The Dodge was driven by a 66-year-old Aberdeen woman who pulled over and remained at the scene. Alcohol and drugs were not factors in the crash, Chastain wrote.

“At the time of the collision, the 42-year-old was wearing a dark navy blue sweatshirt, black sweatpants, and a black stocking cap,” he wrote. “It was dark outside with no street lights in the immediate area. It had also been raining at the time, decreasing visibility.”

The emergency flashers on the Ford Focus had not been activated, Chastain wrote.

The roadway was closed until 7:50 p.m. for the investigation.

The injured woman was transported to Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen, Chastain said. Police did not release her condition.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 12:53 PM with the headline "She was checking on an animal that she’d hit. Then she was struck by a car.."