BELLEVILLE — A pedestrian was seriously injured late Tuesday night in Belleville after getting hit by a vehicle, according to media reports.

The pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on Illinois 161 near the intersection of Royal Heights Road around 9:30 p.m. Firefighters told KMOV that the pedestrian had serious injuries and was taken to a hospital.

The person’s condition was unknown as of early Wednesday morning.

The crash resulted in Illinois 161being closed to thru traffic until early morning.

An apparent increase over the last three years in pedestrian involved traffic incidents in the area has led to a awareness effort by a local family.

The Mays family from the Vandalia and Centralia area suffered from tragedy in 2014, after they lost a family member to a pedestrian/vehicle crash.

The non-profit awareness group is called #startseeingpeople, and their slogan is “If only.”