PULLMAN, Wash. – "There's a lady laying in the middle of the street," said the caller to the 911 operator.

The caller had just found Washington State University graduate Kristen Grindley lying in the middle of a rural Whitman County road, bloodied and unconscious. The time was around 1:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

The Whitman County Sheriffs Office said Grindley, 23, of Woodinville was either thrown from or hit by a car and left in the middle of Albion Road near Pullman.

The man who found Grindley could not get cell phone reception near the injured woman. He parked his own car in front of Grindley to shield her before heading down the road to call for help, investigators said.

The tape of the 911 call was released on Tuesday.

Operator: What's the address to your emergency?

Caller: I'm not (at) an address. I'm at the top of the hill on the Pullman Albion Road. There's a lady laying in the middle of the street. She looks like she got hit by a car. She's breathing.

Operator: She is?

Caller: I haven't moved her.

Operator: Do you know for sure?

Caller: Yes, she is breathing. I can hear her breathe.

Operator: OK, is she awake?

Operator: No.

The caller told the operator that the woman is lying about 50 yards from the crest of a hill -- a dangerous blind spot for drivers on the dark, rural road.

Operator: Is she in the middle of the road, or is she on the side of the road?

Caller: She is in the middle of the road. I backed my car down so I'm blocking the lane, but you can't see her. But you gotta get a car out here quick, because it's pitch-black.

Operator: No one's around her?

Caller: No, nobody at all. I honestly, I thought she was a deer in the road.

Operator: My partner is getting help on the way.

A little more than two minutes into the call, another passerby approached the caller. The caller sent the driver to watch over the woman's body.

Caller: (talking to other driver) There's a girl got hit by a car right up just in front of my car. Pull around the other side of her and put your flashers on. I'm on the phone with 911 right now.

Less than four minutes later, the caller spotted a deputy approaching.

Caller: Actually your car is coming right now. I see him coming up the hill. Hopefully your guy's not flying up too fast, because he didn't slow down when I waved him down.

Operator: OK we'll let him know.

Kristen Grindley was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital in critical condition. She was later transferred to Sacred Heart Medical Center, but she has been making progress.

Detectives are investigating the events that led up to her injury. Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers said Grindley's boyfriend is a person of interest in the case, but not a suspect. Police have seized the man's car.

Investigators also believe Grindley may have been drinking prior to the incident.

"Based on information we've been able to obtain through interviews, we believe there was alcohol involved … that she was drinking," Myers said.

Friend Kylie Pritchard said Grindley graduated from WSU last spring with a major in communications.

"I don't see why anyone would do that," she said. "She's just a really good person, through and through."

KXLY-TV in Spokane contributed to this report.