‘It was absolutely terrifying’: Grand Forks woman hit by car recounts experience, road to recovery

GRAND FORKS — Claire Rash spent the late afternoon of Sept. 23 as she did most days: walking her beloved, high-energy Husky-Malamute mix Sonny around her Grand Forks neighborhood. As she approached the intersection of South 36th Street and 19th Avenue South, about a block from her apartment, a gray 2007 Honda Accord came barreling toward her. I looked at him, he looked at me, Rash said. I let go of Sonny s leash and started running as he accelerated. He went diagonal through bushes and grass and sidewalks, and then on to the pavement right at me. I ll never forget that sound — the sound of the acceleration. It was absolutely terrifying. Rash was thrown 25 feet by the impact. When she came to, her main concern was Sonny, not her broken leg that has since required three surgeries and several nights in the hospital. I realized my leg was broken and I was screaming my dog s name, she said. Sonny was found waiting patiently outside her apartment building