Woman who couldn’t walk months after CA hit-and-run speaks out: ‘Take responsibility’

A 34-year-old Los Angeles woman spoke out Wednesday about what happened to her after she was run over by a driver fleeing in a stolen car earlier this year.

Botagoz Zhanysbayeva was taking a walk to CVS on the night of Feb. 20 when she was hit by the stolen pickup truck, KTLA reported.

Zhanysbayeva told the news station that the last thing she remembers is seeing the vehicle’s lights before waking up in the emergency room with a shattered pelvis, broken arm and multiple facial injuries.

“I don’t remember how it happened,” Zhanysbayeva told ABC7. “I only remember that I was just crossing the street, and I (woke) up in the emergency room.”

Zhanysbayeva was unable to walk for two months after the incident and still struggles with what happened to her, ABC7 reported.

“Every time I have to cross the street I have bad anxiety,” Zhanysbayeva told ABC7.

A witness described the incident to KTLA, saying the driver of the vehicle ran a red light and hit Zhanysbayeva, who “flew up in the air and hit the ground.”

“We all ran to go see how she was. She wasn’t even talking, she was just moaning, hurting,” witness Ezell Gibson told KTLA.

The stolen pickup truck was being driven by 30-year-old Tajon Wright Freeman, a Sept. 21 news release from the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Freeman hit Zhanysbayeva at about 8:35 p.m. that night while driving a stolen 2001 Toyota Tundra, police said. He continued to drive without trying to help Zhanysbayeva or identifying himself, eventually abandoning the truck a short distance away, according to police.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to Zhanysbayeva’s injuries and transported her to a local hospital. She has since been discharged from the hospital but is still recovering from her injuries, police said.

Detectives were able to identify Freeman as the driver of the truck through DNA evidence found in the vehicle, as well as through DNA evidence from a felony vandalism case elsewhere in Los Angeles, police said.

Two felony warrants were issued on Aug. 20 for Freeman’s arrest.

Zhanysbayeva told KTLA that she still struggles with anxiety, pain and difficulty sleeping. She also lost her job as a caretaker because of her injuries and says she wants the driver to “take responsibility.”

Detectives have not been able to find Freeman, who is experiencing homelessness, the release said. Los Angeles police consider Freeman to be armed and dangerous, and have warned members of the public not to approach him and to instead call 911 if they see him.