BOZEMAN — Pedestrian safety and drunk driving remain ongoing concerns in Gallatin County. Early Sunday morning, an incident outside the Molly Brown bar in Bozeman involved both issues.
The crash happened along West Babcock Street, outside the Molly Brown, a bar that has operated in the area since 1950. Marly Folger, who works next door at the Haufbrau House, said she knows the area well.
“I’ve worked next door at the Haufbrau for about six years in the kitchen. We used to call this the triangle. I’m very familiar with the area,” Folger said.
The area, sometimes referred to by locals as the “Bar-muda Triangle,” includes three bars: the Molly Brown, the Haufbrau House, and what used to be the Scoop Bar, now a dispensary.
WATCH: Driver arrested for DUI after striking and severely injuring a pedestrian outside a Bozeman bar Sunday
When asked whether she considers the area dangerous, Folger said yes — particularly for pedestrians.
“Especially for pedestrians, I would say very much so. Obviously, there’s a lot of alcohol passing through everybody here and people trying to use vehicles while they’re intoxicated,” she said.
According to Bozeman Police Patrol Captain Hal Richardson, the crash occurred early Sunday morning and was reported as a vehicle-versus-pedestrian incident.
Richardson said a man was walking along the sidewalk on West Babcock when a car swerved off the road, struck him, and crashed into a pillar.
“There was a crashed-up car and a pedestrian who was pretty severely injured,” Richardson said.
Court documents state the victim was bleeding from his forehead and had a clearly broken right leg when officers arrived.
Police said the driver told officers they had consumed two servings of whiskey at the Molly Brown but attributed the crash to a mechanical failure. The driver was later arrested on charges of criminal endangerment and aggravated DUI.
Richardson said DUI-related incidents do occur in Bozeman.
“Our officers are out there every night looking for DUI offenders to hopefully prevent this stuff from happening, and unfortunately in this case somebody chose to drink and drive, and the result was somebody being significantly injured,” he said.
Folger said the incident did not surprise her.
“No, not really, unfortunately,” she said.
Folger said she hopes for greater awareness to improve safety in the area and across Bozeman.
“That normality, that sense of like, ‘oh, I can drive home drunk,’ needs to change. It’s really just about awareness and really looking out for pedestrians and your surroundings,” she said.
