A homeless man stepped in front of a Riverside County sheriff's deputy's patrol vehicle today in Temecula and was struck but not seriously hurt, authorities said.
The accident happened at 2:30 p.m. on Old Town Front Street, just south of Santiago Road, according to sheriff's officials.
[Click here to read about a separate incident in which a skateboarder was hit by a vehicle on Winchester Road Wednesday night.]
A deputy radioed that he was driving on the four-lane road when a transient unexpectedly walked in front of him. The speed at which the deputy was traveling at the time couldn't immediately be confirmed.
Neither the lawman or the victim was identified.
The latter apparently was able to get to his feet seconds after impact and said that he was not seriously injured, according to reports from the scene.
An ambulance was summoned so the man could be transported to a hospital for a more thorough medical examination. It was unknown whether he consented to treatment.
A sheriff's sergeant requested that the California Highway Patrol conduct an independent investigation of what happened, per sheriff's department policy.
There were several witness to the accident, according to the deputy.
