GROVE CITY — A 21-year-old woman was hospitalized with head and leg injuries after she was hit by a sport utility vehicle while trying to help a turtle get off a road earlier this week, police said.

Kelsey Sweeney of Harrisville was on East Main Street about 9:10 p.m., when an eastbound car hit her.

Sweeney was “assisting a turtle crossing the road” at the time of the accident, according to a Grove City police report.

Police said Patricia Shuster, 74, of Grove City was driving the 2013 Ford Escape that hit Sweeney.

Shuster told police that it was dark and raining heavily and that she never saw Sweeney on the road until it was too late.

Investigators believe the SUV was traveling 20 to 25 mph when it struck the woman. The road has a posted 25 mph speed limit.

At least two witnesses saw the accident and corroborated Shuster’s account.

Police said Sweeney was standing when the vehicle hit her. She was knocked down and suffered cuts to the back of her head and on her left leg.

She admitted to police that she walked onto the road to save the turtle from getting run over, police said.

She was taken to the Grove City Medical Center for treatment of unspecified injuries.

Later that night, a medical center spokeswoman said, Sweeney was flown by medical helicopter to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Her condition was not known this morning.

Police said no charges were filed. The fate of the turtle is not known.