A 19-year-old woman was brutally beaten and raped in an apparently random daylight attack near her Provo apartment complex Wednesday, police said.

She left the Branbury Apartments at 449 W. 1720 North about 3:30 p.m., said Provo police Capt. Cliff Argyle.

"It was a nice day and she was going to go out for a walk," Argyle said. She went to a dirt path that cuts through a wooded area from the south side of the complex to State Street. Somewhere along the way, a man grabbed her and pulled her into the woods. He sexually assaulted her and beat her, leaving her with a severe head injury, broken facial bones and a broken jaw.

"The extent of her injuries would lead me to believe that if he didn't believe she was dead already, he believed she would die at that location," Argyle said.

She lay there for hours until she was able to drag herself about 30 feet back to the main path, where people walking by saw her about 6:20 p.m.

She was too seriously injured to give a complete description of the man earlier Thursday, but did say that he was an adult man with a tattoo.

Later, from her hospital bed, she told police her attacker was a Caucasian man in his mid- to late 20s with a medium build, Argyle said. He was wearing a baseball cap with a logo on the front and a black T-shirt with colors or printing on the front. He also had tattoos on his neck and arms.

The hospitalized woman was only able to communicate to police through a series of yes-and-no questions and sign language, Argyle said.

She also told police she didn't know the man. Investigators believe she is a Utah Valley University student, and though walking along that path is not a daily routine for her, it isn't completely out of the ordinary, Argyle said.

"She's been trying to help us, but we have to be careful of how much, be careful of her and her condition," he said.

She improved Thursday at the intensive care unit at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, and doctors believe she will survive. Her family was with her, though her injuries limited her ability to communicate with them.

Branbury Apartments resident Natalie Carter said that many Brigham Young University and UVU students live at the complex.

"It's very safe," the 20-year-old said, though Carter described the path where Wednesday's attack occurred as heavily wooded and secluded. "I'm shocked. That's really scary."

Though police did not have immediate plans for stepped up patrols, more officers will be on the scene in the coming days, looking for witnesses who could lead them to a suspect, Argyle said.

lwhitehurst@sltrib.com

smcfarland@sltrib.com