A 71-year-old man is in “very critical condition” after his vehicle was struck by one of two vehicles that Port Arthur police believe were racing during rush hour Wednesday.

One person was arrested — Misael Cortez, 32, and charged with racing, a second-degree felony. The charge is a felony because the victim sustained serious bodily injury, Port Arthur Police Det. Mike Hebert said.

Police are not releasing the name of the victim and there is no information about the other driver who was suspected of racing.

Hebert said the victim’s vehicle was struck on the driver’s side and there were no passengers.

Police were called at 4:26 p.m. Wednesday to the 3600 block of Ninth Avenue where one of the two speeding vehicles had collided with a third vehicle driven by a 71-year-old Port Arthur resident. The senior citizen who was driving the third vehicle in the rush hour collision was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont, where he was listed in critical condition. As of Thursday afternoon his condition was “very critical,” Hebert said.

Witnesses told police that two vehicles appeared to be racing at a high rate of speed during rush hour traffic.

The Port Arthur Police Criminal Investigations Division was investigating.