A man standing on a West Berkeley median fell into a city-owned vehicle in the roadway and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries Monday, authorities said.

The man was standing on the center divider on San Pablo Avenue near Cedar Street when he fell, said Sgt. Andrew Frankel of the Berkeley Police Department, “striking a city vehicle that was passing.” (Update: A witness at the scene said the man appeared to be a panhandler.)

The man’s injuries appeared serious and he was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland with an apparent head injury at about 1:30 p.m.

A local business owner said he saw lots of police in the area in front of pet supply store Animal Farm, as well as a crime scene investigation van, around 2:30 p.m.

“Not sure if it was serious, but certainly looked it,” he said. “I came back around 4:45 and it was back to normal.”

Police Department traffic officers were notified about the collision due to the apparent severity of the man’s injuries, Frankel said. As of about 4 p.m., however, the man was listed in stable condition at the hospital, he added.

The man’s age and city of residence were not immediately available.

Frankel said he did not know which city of Berkeley department was associated with the vehicle involved in the traffic incident. It was not, he said, a police vehicle.

The reason for the man’s fall was “unclear” as of Monday afternoon, he said.

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According to scanner traffic reviewed by Berkeleyside, the man fell face down into the street and was bleeding when first responders got to the scene.

Northbound traffic on San Pablo was diverted during the investigation onto eastbound Cedar, according to scanner traffic.

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