A college baseball player from Oklahoma was in critical condition Monday after being seriously injured in an apparent hit-and-run as he crossed a southeast Arkansas highway, officials said.
Authorities said 20-year-old Joseph D. Cerda Jr. was hit by a dark-colored car around 8 p.m. on Saturday while he crossed U.S. 425. Authorities said he suffered serious injuries after the driver hit him and then fled.
Cerda was treated for his injuries in Monticello before being airlifted to UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock, authorities said.
A UAMS spokeswoman said he was in critical condition Monday afternoon while still being treated at the hospital.
Cerda, a senior at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and second baseman for the school's baseball team, played against the University of Arkansas at Monticello earlier in the day and was going to a local restaurant with teammates when he was hit, officials have said.
His teammates told Arkansas State Police troopers the car didn’t stop, and Cerda tried to jump out of the way.
A state police spokesman on Monday said investigators were holding a car that might have hit Cerda. It wasn’t immediately known if police had the suspected driver in custody.
Southeastern Oklahoma State said in a statement following the crash that school and athletics leaders were aware of the incident, adding that they were offering Cerda’s family assistance.
“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with all of them,” the statement said.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of the crash that injured Cerda. It happened around 8 p.m. Saturday.