Lynnwood woman killed in ‘freak accident’ outside Utah music festival

LYNNWOOD, Wash. — Ava Ahlander, a 23-year-old woman from Lynnwood, died over the weekend in what family members described as a freak accident involving construction debris during a thunderstorm in Salt Lake City.

Ahlander had flown to Utah a couple days earlier to attend Redwest Music Festival with friends. On Saturday, the group had gathered to see the artist Post Malone perform. But as a storm swept through the city, they decided to leave the concert grounds early.

“The weather was bad. It was very windy,” said Bobby Ahlander, the victim’s uncle, who spoke from outside the hospital.

According to Ahlander, the group had parked near an apartment complex that was under construction. As she approached her car, a heavy wooden plank — apparently part of the building’s scaffolding — was dislodged by high winds and struck her in the head, also smashing her car.

“It just struck her while she was getting into the car,” he said.

Doctors attempted to save her life, but were ultimately unsuccessful. Her family described the event as a tragic accident that defied explanation.

“It’s the definition of a freak accident,” her uncle said.

The young woman’s parents are expected to contact local authorities in Utah to seek additional information about the circumstances surrounding her death.

Though she had grown up in Utah, Ahlander moved to Lynnwood in 2021 and was working as a restaurant manager in nearby Lake Stevens. It was there she met Amber Davis, a close friend and co-worker.

Davis says Ahlander loved attending concerts and music festivals, like the one this weekend in Utah that also featured headliners Kacey Musgraves and Noah Kahan.

“She was so excited before she left,” Davis said. “She couldn’t stop talking about it.”

The loss has left Davis and the wider Snohomish County community reeling.

“It didn’t feel real,” she said. “Not going to be able to call her and talk to her, it’s going to be really difficult.”

Friends described Ahlander as hard-working and full of energy. “She tries to uplift everyone,” Davis said. “She’s the life of the party anywhere you go.”

In the years before her death, Ahlander had registered as an organ donor. Her family said that, even in passing, she continues to give the “gift of life to others.”

“When I lose people, I usually dream about them,” Davis said. “Really hoping she comes and visits. Definitely a nice goodbye when they do that.”

When asked what she would tell her if she was still here, Davis replied, “God, I’d just hug her and tell her I love her. That was always something that she said.”

Ahlander’s uncle said she will be sorely missed by so many people, adding, “Even though it feels awful to have lost her at such a young age, she literally died doing the thing she loved to do. She was going to a concert with her friends, and was having fun and loving life.”

The community is now coming together to raise funds her funeral expenses, as well as grief counseling expenses for her family and the surviving friends who were there.