HOLBROOK (CBS) – Investigators in Holbrook are trying to figure out what caused a car to veer off the road and plow into a man on the sidewalk.

Emergency crews said that 22-year-old Alex Casna from Holbrook was walking on the sidewalk along Route 37 on Sunday morning, when a car suddenly veered off the road and hit him. He rolled up onto the windshield, shattering it, and then back onto the roadway; he was thrown about 30 feet.

“Apparently the driver got distracted,” said Holbrook Fire Lt. Donald Austin, “reached for something in the car, that’s what we heard, ended up driving up on the sidewalk striking the individual.”

Jim Smith reports

A paramedic on the scene said Casna’s injuries were very serious, and that he was in and out of consciousness. He was airlifted to Mass General Hospital, where he underwent several hours of surgery.

The driver, 24-year-old Michael Herrmann of Braintree, stayed at the scene and may face charges.

According to the most recent government statistics, nearly 20 percent of all crashes involve some type of distraction, and distractions are a factor in 16 percent of all fatal crashes.