DONELSON, Tenn. (WKRN) — A pedestrian is critically injured after he was struck by a vehicle in a construction area along a Donelson exit ramp Wednesday morning. 

The Metro Nashville Police Department said the man was hit by a truck by the south exit ramp for Donelson Pike from Interstate 40 East just after 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

Based on the preliminary investigation, officials said the man was walking on a one-lane gravel road for construction vehicle access adjacent to the ramp.

The 45-year-old Nashville man was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in critical condition, authorities reported. Efforts are underway to contact his next of kin.

Police originally posted on social media Wednesday morning the truck that hit the pedestrian left the scene. However, according to an afternoon update, a construction worker told investigators he was backing a Ford F-150 pickup truck into the construction area during the time period the man was hit, but he didn’t realize he’d been involved in a collision.

Officials said no evidence of impairment was discovered at the scene and, as of this writing, no charges have been placed against the truck driver.

Authorities said they have yet to determine why the man was walking in the area, adding that they didn’t find any vehicles near the crash site from which he would have exited.

According to Metro police, the exit ramp stayed closed until shortly after 10:30 a.m. so officers could assess the scene.

No other information was immediately released.