BOZEMAN — Imagine you’re on your daily walk, crossing the road, looking both ways to make sure no one is coming — and then, out of nowhere, a car strikes you.
That’s exactly what happened to 19-year-old Ava Rask on Tuesday afternoon at the roundabout on Baxter and Ferguson in Bozeman.
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Ava shows MTN the terrifying moment on video, which shows the exact second she was hit.
“I made sure when I got to the middle part and no one was coming, and I look up and I just see a car coming at me,” Rask said.
Security footage from a nearby home captured the footage showing the driver of a green Subaru pausing for a brief moment before continuing through the intersection.
“He was like, are you okay, hun? And I said you're lucky I’m okay! And then I backed off because cars were honking and people were yelling, then he drove off,” Rask recalled.
The incident has raised ongoing concerns about pedestrian safety in Bozeman.
When asked how often she witnesses reckless driving around town, Ava said, “Honestly, I’ve seen maybe people road raging and flipping each other off, but nothing as far as a pedestrian getting hit.”
Pedestrian safety became a citywide conversation last September, when 60-year-old Lynette Johnson was killed after a driver left the roadway and struck her while she was walking her dog near South Third Avenue.
Bozeman Police say incidents like these remain rare but troubling. In the past year, the department received 742 hit-and-run reports. Of those, 501 required further investigation, and six involved pedestrians.
In a statement, Bozeman Police said, “We strongly encourage all drivers to practice this level of caution and adhere to traffic regulations to ensure safety for everyone using the roadway.”
In Ava’s case, the investigation has been complicated by the lack of a visible license plate on the vehicle. However, officials say the video is crucial to identifying the driver.
“When no license plate information is available in a hit-and-run incident, investigations focus on gathering evidence through multiple channels. Officers interview victims and witnesses, search the area for surveillance cameras that might have recorded the event, and collect physical evidence such as vehicle fragments that could identify the make and model of the vehicle. Law enforcement also utilizes additional investigative resources and continues pursuing all potential leads until all possibilities have been exhausted,” Bozeman Police said.
Ava expressed frustration that no other drivers stopped to help her, but she remains hopeful that the investigation will lead to answers.
“Own up to your actions because this would have been way less serious if he would have just stopped and helped me out,” she said.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Bozeman Police.
