A man believed to be in his 60s was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in critical condition today after he was struck by a vehicle driven by an 89-year-old Hawai'i Kai man on Kalaniana'ole Highway near Paiko Lagoon.

Police said the white, 2003 Toyota four-door sedan was traveling east in the far right lane of Kalaniana'ole Highway at around 11:40 a.m. when the driver lost control of the car. The vehicle veered off the roadway and onto the south sidewalk, sideswiped a hollow tile wall and knocked out a fire hydrant, before striking the pedestrian about 480 feet west of Paiko Drive. The broken hydrant sent a plume of water 40 feet into the air.

The pedestrian suffered serious head and body injuries, police said.

Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Earle Kealoha said according to firefighters who responded to the incident, it was not immediately clear to authorities that a pedestrian had been hit.

Firefighters saw the car and the driver, as well as the dislodged hydrant and the water plume and began working to shut off the water supply.

"Moments later, a police officer found the pedestrian," said Kealoha, who said it appeared that the impact had thrown the victim over a hedge where he was partially hidden from view.

"They found him on the side of a garage of a house that was next to that hydrant."

Emergency Medical Services transported the victim to the hospital. As a precaution, paramedics also checked out the driver, who appeared to be unharmed.

Police said the driver was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the collision, and that the car's airbags were deployed. Speed, drugs and alcohol were not apparent factors in the incident, police said.