After return from space, Russian cosmonaut runs into difficulty on Earth

After three missions in space, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev ran into difficulty on Earth.

Russian cosmonaut runs over colleague after space return.  (AP)

After three missions in space, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev ran into difficulty on Earth when he drove over a colleague on a dark road outside Moscow less than three weeks after returning from his latest orbiting mission.

Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos said Artemyev didn't see an employee of the Star City cosmonaut training center who was crossing the road in the dark late Monday.

It said in a statement Tuesday that Artemyev immediately provided first aid assistance to the victim, Anatoly Uronov, who was hospitalized with several fractures. Roscosmos emphasized that Artemyev was sober and immediately called police and an ambulance.

On Sept. 29, the 51-year-old Artemyev returned from his third mission to the International Space Station, which brought his total time spent in orbit to 561 days.