(Norwalk, Iowa) – A Polk County man was injured after being struck by a vehicle Sunday evening, in Warren County. According to the Iowa State Patrol, 42-year-old Eric Gene Rudolph, of Des Moines, was walking in the ditch along Interstate 35 west of Norwalk, when he was struck by a 2019 Chevy Equinox, driven by 62-year-old Dale Loren Acker, of Greenfield.

The accident happened when Acker fell asleep at the wheel as he was traveling south on I-35 near mile marker 62 at around 6:35-p.m. His vehicle entered the west-side ditch before striking Rudolph. Following the collision, the vehicle continued through the ditch before coming to rest on the shoulder of I-35.

Eric Rudolph was transported by Norwalk Fire & Rescue to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. Dale Acker was not injured.