Screams in vain for pitbull victim
Woman dies after frantic effort to cut through gate fails
A67-YEAR-old woman killed by two pitbull dogs at a home in Greenwood Park in Durban yesterday had screamed for her neighbours in the hope that they could save her. Despite their desperate efforts to cut their way through a driveway gate‚ the woman – whose name has not been released – took her last breath just metres from them at the Heather Grove Road home.
The attack follows a similar incident on Monday night in Port Elizabeth, when Ruan Redgard, 27, lost his life after he was mauled by two pitbulls while walking home in Algoa Park.
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane confirmed yesterday that officers were investigating the incident in Durban.
A neighbour of the Durban victim, George Samuels, said that he had received a phone call from his mother alerting him to the emergency.
“She called me and said it sounded like a woman was screaming – like she was being attacked by the dogs.
“She called the police and the paramedics and everyone.
“When I got there, the woman was lying by the gate and I think by that time the dogs had moved around the back [of the property],” Samuels said.
“I got a hacksaw and with the paramedics started trying to cut the gate to get to her when the guy who owns the property got back.
“This is terrible. The woman used to stay in the house before and I think she came back to look after her grandchildren‚” he said.
Marshall Security spokesman Kyle van Reenen said security officers and paramedics had rushed to the scene and found the woman lying in the driveway.
“Reports indicate that the woman was attacked by two pitbulls and suffered fatal injuries.
“Unfortunately, there was nothing paramedics could do to assist the lady and she was declared deceased on arrival‚” he said.
The woman was understood to have sustained severe injuries to her upper and lower body.
“The scene was secured and handed over to the SA Police Service for further investigation and processing.”
In the Port Elizabeth incident, Redgard‚ whose clothing was ripped off his body‚ died shortly after being dragged into a nearby garden by residents when the dogs were eventually chased away by an ADT vehicle.
Another man who tried to intervene was also savaged and was taken to Livingstone Hospital.
The owner of the dogs declined to comment yesterday.
Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the investigation was continuing.