Police: Suspected drunken pedestrian hit by car, injured on Highway 1

A Mendocino County man was in critical condition Monday after a weekend accident in which he was struck by a vehicle on Highway 1 in Manchester, the CHP said.

Authorities suspect Steven M. VanCleave, 34, was intoxicated when a motorist reportedly came upon him stumbling along the middle of the highway Saturday night.

Authorities said the driver, Arkansas resident Garrett Graham, 22, told authorities that VanCleave was straddling the double yellow line and flailing his arms as Graham slowed and tried to steer away from him.

Finally, VanCleave stepped back into the northbound lane and into the path of Graham's Subaru Legacy, the driver told the CHP.

The car struck him, threw him up on the hood and into the windshield, then dumped him back onto the street as Graham -- shocked -- hit the accelerator by mistake and then the brakes, the CHP said.

VanCleave broke both legs in the 8:25 p.m. crash and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where he remained in critical condition Monday, a nursing supervisor said.

The accident remained under investigation, the CHP said.