A Chippewa Falls woman was hit while crossing the street in downtown Chippewa Falls Tuesday by a woman with a suspended driver’s license.

Arla J. Seyforth, 72, was struck while crossing outside of a crosswalk on West Spring Street at 12:52 p.m., according to a Chippewa Falls Police Department report.

She was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, where she was reported to have had external bleeding on the back of her head.

The driver of the 2001 Daewoo Leganza was 19-year-old Kayla M. Mequiston of 3109 Otis St., Eau Claire, was cited by Chippewa Falls police for having no valid driver’s license. Her license had been suspended in Minnesota, police said.

A witness told police that Mequiston was not speeding.

According to the police report:

Mequiston was westbound on West Spring Street, between Bridge and Bay Streets. Seyforth was walking northbound across the street at midblock.

Mequiston said she did not see Seyforth crossing, and when she did, she braked and swerved, but could not avoid hitting her.

Arla Seyforth is the wife of longtime Chippewa Falls photographer Glenn Seyforth, who has taken photos of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 for the Chippewa Herald for many years. The couple has three sons, Wade, Darrin and Tim.

Tim Seyforth said this morning that his mother was placed in the hospital’s intensive care unit as a precautionary measure. A hospital spokeswoman said Arla Seyforth is expected to be moved from that unit later today.