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Signs in Yellowstone National Park warn visitors not to get too close to the wildlife, but Cathy Hayes from Farr West, Utah, did - and paid the price. She even got video of what happened.

On Monday, she was in an area about a mile away from the Old Faithful geyser. She and a friend spotted a bison and got close to it; she'll be the first to admit they shouldn't have done that.

In the video footage, Hayes is heard saying, "So we're here in the park and there's a buffalo, and he's just wandering across the road." But watching it from afar wasn't good enough for her friend, who wanted to get a closer at it look for himself.

With the camera rolling, she followed him and joked about how dangerous it was - never expecting what would come next. They were about 30 feet away when the buffalo became agitated; Hayes took cover behind a tree.

When the bison hit it, she made a run for her car but didn't make it. She recalled, "I was behind the clump of trees and there was only this much room between the two clumps of trees. He maneuvered between those and turned on a dime and came after me."

The bison rammed Hayes in her left thigh, flipping her over. She landed on her right leg, which is now badly bruised. "I was waiting, truly waiting for him to stomp my head, ‘cause I could hear his breathing and his hooves were right by my head," she said. "I just thought this was it, how I was going to go out."

Click here to watch the video.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AT KSL.COM including a discussion about the possibility of an object being hurled at the bison prior to the attack.