diff --git a/src/install/lifecycle_script_runner.zig b/src/install/lifecycle_script_runner.zig
index 2b249771b8..325d59ae38 100644
--- a/src/install/lifecycle_script_runner.zig
+++ b/src/install/lifecycle_script_runner.zig
@@ -413,7 +413,13 @@ pub const LifecycleScriptSubprocess = struct {
                                 Lockfile.Scripts.names[new_script_index],
                                 @errorName(err),
                             });
-                            Global.exit(1);
+                            if (this.ctx) |this_ctx| {
+                                this_ctx.installer.store.entries.items(.step)[this_ctx.entry_id.get()].store(.done, .monotonic);
+                                this_ctx.installer.onTaskComplete(this_ctx.entry_id, .fail);
+                            }
+                            _ = this.manager.pending_lifecycle_script_tasks.fetchSub(1, .monotonic);
+                            this.deinit();
+                            return;
                         };
                         return;
                     }
@@ -571,6 +577,12 @@ pub const LifecycleScriptSubprocess = struct {
                 Lockfile.Scripts.names[list.first_index],
                 @errorName(err),
             });
+            if (lifecycle_subprocess.ctx) |subprocess_ctx| {
+                subprocess_ctx.installer.store.entries.items(.step)[subprocess_ctx.entry_id.get()].store(.done, .monotonic);
+                subprocess_ctx.installer.onTaskComplete(subprocess_ctx.entry_id, .fail);
+            }
+            _ = manager.pending_lifecycle_script_tasks.fetchSub(1, .monotonic);
+            lifecycle_subprocess.deinit();
         };
     }
 };
diff --git a/test/regression/issue/14945-lifecycle-script-crash.test.ts b/test/regression/issue/14945-lifecycle-script-crash.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..00ad75391d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/regression/issue/14945-lifecycle-script-crash.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+import { expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import { bunEnv, bunExe, tempDirWithFiles } from "harness";
+
+test("lifecycle script should handle directory deletion gracefully", async () => {
+  const dir = tempDirWithFiles("lifecycle-crash-test", {
+    "package.json": JSON.stringify({
+      name: "test-package",
+      version: "1.0.0",
+      scripts: {
+        preinstall: process.platform === "win32" ? "rmdir /s /q ." : "rm -rf .",
+        postinstall: "echo hello world",
+      },
+    }),
+  });
+
+  // Run bun install and expect it to handle the directory deletion gracefully
+  // without crashing with assertions
+  await using proc = Bun.spawn({
+    cmd: [bunExe(), "install"],
+    env: bunEnv,
+    cwd: dir,
+    stdout: "pipe",
+    stderr: "pipe",
+  });
+
+  const [stdout, stderr, exitCode] = await Promise.all([
+    new Response(proc.stdout).text(),
+    new Response(proc.stderr).text(),
+    proc.exited,
+  ]);
+
+  // The process should not crash with assertion failures
+  // It may fail (non-zero exit code) but should fail gracefully
+  // and not with internal assertion errors
+  expect(stderr).not.toContain("assertion");
+  expect(stderr).not.toContain("atIndex");
+  expect(stderr).not.toContain("panic");
+
+  // Should contain an error message about the script failure
+  expect(stderr.includes("script") && (stderr.includes("exited with") || stderr.includes("Failed to run script"))).toBe(
+    true,
+  );
+
+  // The process should exit with a non-zero code due to the script failure
+  expect(exitCode).not.toBe(0);
+});
+
+test("lifecycle script with optional dependency should handle directory deletion", async () => {
+  const depDir = tempDirWithFiles("optional-dep", {
+    "package.json": JSON.stringify({
+      name: "optional-dep",
+      version: "1.0.0",
+      scripts: {
+        preinstall: process.platform === "win32" ? "rmdir /s /q ." : "rm -rf .",
+        postinstall: "echo hello from optional dep",
+      },
+    }),
+  });
+
+  const mainDir = tempDirWithFiles("main-package", {
+    "package.json": JSON.stringify({
+      name: "main-package",
+      version: "1.0.0",
+      optionalDependencies: {
+        "optional-dep": `file:${depDir}`,
+      },
+    }),
+  });
+
+  // Run bun install and expect it to handle the optional dependency
+  // directory deletion gracefully
+  await using proc = Bun.spawn({
+    cmd: [bunExe(), "install"],
+    env: bunEnv,
+    cwd: mainDir,
+    stdout: "pipe",
+    stderr: "pipe",
+  });
+
+  const [stdout, stderr, exitCode] = await Promise.all([
+    new Response(proc.stdout).text(),
+    new Response(proc.stderr).text(),
+    proc.exited,
+  ]);
+
+  // The process should not crash with assertion failures
+  expect(stderr).not.toContain("assertion");
+  expect(stderr).not.toContain("atIndex");
+  expect(stderr).not.toContain("panic");
+
+  // For optional dependencies, the install should succeed even if scripts fail
+  // The process may warn about deleting the optional dependency
+  expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+});