Sep 12, 2008 10:42 am US/Central
Woman Viciously Attacked By Pit Bulls In Waukegan
Dogs Rip Off Part Of Woman's Ear, Chew Up Arms And Legs
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (Lake County News-Sun) ―
A Waukegan woman was viciously attacked by three pit bulls Thursday near her home, ripping a part of her ear off and chewing up her arms and her legs.
"Her arms are like they stuck them in a meat grinder. Same with her legs. They were able to retrieve some of her parts and put them on ice and sew them back on," said DeShondra Rice, a cousin.
The victim, Kiara Lynn, 19, was reported in stable condition Thursday night at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan after emergency surgery. Doctors apparently were successful in reattaching her ear and closing wounds that witnesses said were three to four inches wide.
"They took a chunk out of her leg and you could see the muscle," said Richard Burns, 57, a neighbor who tried to help by swinging a shovel at the dogs.
The incident began about noon in the 2100 block of Waverly Place. Lynn went to a nearby bus stop to pick up the 5-year-old daughter of Rice, walking past the dogs on the way to the bus stop and back to her house.
Then she played some basketball in the driveway with a friend, Chris Terry, 18, and they decided to go get some fruit juice from a nearby gas station. As they approached, the dogs broke free from the chains attached to a front porch railing and attacked the girl.
"They attacked her, she raised her arm, and they dragged her to the ground," said Terry, who tried to pull the dogs off her and then ran to get the owner of the dogs. Witnesses say all three dogs attacked the young woman, but police said the early investigation said two dogs attacked while the third remained chained to the porch.
Rich Burns said he could hear the girl's screams from inside his house and he grabbed a shovel and went to the driveway where the dogs held her down. "It was awful. You know how when the hyenas attack the zebra? They just took chunks out of her. If that was a little kid she would of been dead," he said.
"It was an awful thing to see," said Burns, who said when he swung the shovel down and scared one dog while some other people got the two other dogs under control.
"The owner said, 'Don't kill my dog.' "I asked him why he had to have these wild animals," Burns said.
"I've never seen anything like it. The girl was saying 'Why, Why, What did I do?' This neighborhood is just full of kids. I knew this was going to happen, but I never imagined this," said Burns.
He and another neighbor said the dog owner had been arrested before because his dog bit someone and he got the dog back.
"I'm going to the City Council meeting on Monday and tell them to do something. We all are going down there," he said.
Lynn was a full-time student at the College of Lake County majoring in business, said her great aunt, Virginia Mays of Zion. She was an honor student who graduated from Waukegan High School in 2006.
"She graduated ahead of her class [early]. She is quiet and just a good kid," said Mays.
"That dog ate her up. A baby wouldn't have even known how to protect herself," she said.
The dogs were secured by Waukegan Animal Control for observation, and the owner was taken to the police station for further investigation.
By Frank Abderholden / Lake County News-Sun
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