Driver who hit woman running from bear won't be charged

The driver who hit a pregnant woman trying to escape a bear last week in northeast Colorado Springs won't be cited because the collision wasn't her fault, police spokesman Lt. David Whitlock said Wednesday.

"Investigations led us to believe the pedestrian was the apparent cause of the accident," he said.

The name of the driver was not released.

Ashley Swendsen, 26, ran in front of the car on Vincent Road while fleeing a bear April 23 that followed her down a trail next to Cottonwood Creek near Woodmen Road and Interstate 25.

The woman driving the car stopped after the collision, spoke briefly with Swendsen, who was not seriously injured, then drove off.

State wildlife officials tracked the bear and tranquilized it while trying to determine if it was the same bear Swendsen had encountered on the trail.

After she identified it by its distinctive cinnamon-colored fur, wildlife officials euthanized it, saying it was a danger because it had exhibited no fear of humans.

The story and TV video of the bear quickly went national, along with the benefits and drawbacks of instant fame for Swendsen.

On Wednesday morning, Swendsen and her fiancé, Jesse Daly, were interviewed by Meredith Vieira on NBC's "Today" show.


(View the clip here)

"It's an amazing story," Vieira said. "It's bizarre."

Swendsen told Vieira she initially stayed calm after seeing the bear.

"At first I pretended like it was a dog, like a big dog, because it was a cute bear," she said. When the bear continued to follow her, she began to run away and scream for help.

By the next day, public sentiment appeared to be backing the bear, with many people saying officials had needlessly destroyed a bear that had been less of a danger to Swendsen than running in front of a moving car.

Swendsen told Vieira that the backlash was due to an article in a local newspaper that said she had immediately started running when she saw the bear, implying that she had caused it to act aggressively. Swendsen did not identify the newspaper.

The Gazette's articles about Swendsen reported that she told investigators she kept walking when she encountered the animal, then broke into a run to get away.

Swendsen told Vieira she had mixed feelings about the bear being put down.

"If I had known that was what was going to happen, maybe I wouldn't have identified the bear," she said. "But what if the bear would have attacked a little kid, then of course it would have been euthanized."

Daly told Vieira their life has been a whirlwind since the bear day.

"Within minutes, the police and camera and news people showed up, and it's just been insane ever since."