'Inattentive and distracted driving' led to death of jogging Bozeman nurse

"Inattentive and distracted driving" appears to be the primary cause in the death of a Bozeman nurse who was killed while out for a run on West Oak Street on Feb. 26, the Bozeman Police Department said in a release Thursday announcing its "substantially completed" investigation.

Leslie Brown, 39, was hit by a passenger vehicle driven by a juvenile traveling west on Oak in the lane closest to the north curb, BPD said.

Another vehicle in front of the juvenile driver came to a stop, allowing Brown to cross. The juvenile changed lanes and proceeded through the posted pedestrian crosswalk, striking Brown as she crossed, the release said.

“The investigation has determined at this point that excessive speed was not a factor in the collision,” BPD Chief Jim Veltkamp said in the release. “Instead, inattentive and distracted driving appear to be the primary factors that led to this crash. It appears the driver was distracted by activity in the vehicle and failed to anticipate the reason the other vehicle had come to a stop at the crosswalk.”

Because the driver is a juvenile, the identity will not be released. Once the investigation have been completed, the City and County Attorneys’ offices will be consulted prior to appropriate charges being filed, BPD said.

Brown was a perioperative nurse at Bozeman Health for 10 years. A celebration of her life was held March 7.