FAIRFIELD — A woman crossing Western Avenue was seriously hurt Thursday when she was struck by a van, according to police.

The woman, whose name was not available late Thursday, was taken by ambulance to Thayer Campus, MaineGeneral Medical Center, in Waterville, and then flown by LifeFlight helicopter to another hospital, police Sgt. Matt Bard said late Thursday. Her name, which hospital she was taken to and her condition were not available at press time.

The 4:33 p.m. crash occurred at the intersection of Western Avenue and High Street when a 1998 Dodge Caravan being driven west by Heather Richardson, 35, of Benton, struck the woman, Bard said.

He said it appears the woman was crossing the street in a crosswalk and heading north when she was struck.

The paint on the crosswalk is not visible, he said.

Bard said the driver said she never saw the pedestrian.

The speed limit on Western Avenue is 25 mph.

Nicole Hodgkiss, 24, of Fairfield, was driving a sport utility vehicle east on Western Avenue when the accident happened in front of her.

“I see this person flying through the air,” Hodgkiss, a certified nursing assistant, said at the scene. “It was a big blur. All I saw was a woman doing flips in the air and a body on the ground. It was awful. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Hodgkiss said her sister-in-law, Deanne Hale, 30, who was a passenger in her vehicle, called 911 on her cellphone and handed it to Hodgkiss, who spoke with an emergency dispatcher.

“I went over to (the victim),” Hodgkiss said. “She was breathing but not conscious. The back of her head was bleeding. She had a big old egg on her left eyebrow.”

She said others who tried to help the woman on the ground asked her questions, but she did not answer.

Hodgkiss said the victim’s shoe flew off on impact. Her sunglasses were on the van’s windshield, which was smashed. There was blood on the pavement.

The van’s driver was sobbing at the scene and people stopped to comfort her. Hodgkiss said the driver immediately stopped the van and got out after the woman was struck.

Bard said Richardson has not been charged and the accident is still under investigation by Officer Shanna Blodgett.

Police directed traffic around the van, which was parked where it stopped in the street.

Kennebec County sheriff Sgt. Mike Pion arrived at the scene to help reconstruct how the accident occurred. Fire officials also helped at the scene.

The accident was cleared just before 8 p.m.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com