A 50-year-old man was walking toward McCormick's Grocery Store near Kirkley and Peach Orchard Road in the Pageland area on October 28 when several dogs attacked him, leaving him with multiple bite wounds and serious injuries that required an emergency airlift to an Atrium Health hospital in Charlotte. Two Chesterfield County residents are now facing a combined 20 criminal charges in connection with the mauling.
The attack happened along Tadlock Road, according to Queen City News, which reported that the dogs involved included a Boxer and multiple Pit Bull mixes. Deputies said two people nearby happened to be riding a four-wheeler and quickly intervened to help the victim, an act credited with pulling him out of the attack before it turned even more dire.
Two Pageland Residents Charged With 10 Counts Each
Amanda Hope Freeman, 41, and Kenneth Dale Wroten Sr., 56, both of Pageland, were each charged with 10 counts of allowing dangerous animals to run at large, bringing their combined total to 20 criminal charges, the station's report states. The Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office thanked the two bystanders who stepped in, saying their quick actions may have prevented a more tragic outcome.
The sheriff's office also used the incident to remind dog owners that they are responsible for their animals' care, control and containment, adding that dogs with a history of aggression or violent behavior must be properly restrained and securely contained to protect the public. Under South Carolina law, it is unlawful for an animal's owner or manager to wilfully or negligently permit the animal to run at large beyond the limits of land they own, lease, occupy or control, according to the South Carolina Code of Laws Unannotated.
A County With a Recent History of Dog Attacks
This is not the first time Chesterfield County has dealt with a serious dog attack this year. In March, the sheriff's office described a mauling as the second potentially deadly dog attack in the county within four days, after a 3-year-old child was injured in the Pageland area on March 10, according to the Herald. That attack left the boy with 12 lacerations to his head, face, stomach and arm, and the dog's owner was charged with permitting a dangerous or vicious animal to run at large as a second offense.
Hoodline previously reported on dog attack that airlifted toddler to a Charlotte trauma center from Sale Barn Lane, where the child's injuries were described by medical staff as not life-threatening. Days later, a separate attack in the Patrick area injured a 56-year-old man, with investigators suspecting the dog involved belonged to the victim himself, the Herald reported.
Charlotte Has Seen Its Own Multi-Dog Mauling
The pattern of multi-dog attacks has not been confined to Chesterfield County. In August, seven pit bull-type dogs were involved in an attack in Charlotte that left a woman hurt in her own yard along with three others who were injured while trying to help her, according to the Charlotte Observer. Animal Care and Control said all seven dogs were eventually accounted for, with six captured alive and one found deceased.
No details on the Pageland victim's current condition or prognosis have been released, and it remains unclear which dogs belonged to which defendant or who owned or controlled the animals involved in the October 28 attack. For now, Freeman and Wroten face their 20 combined charges as the case moves forward in Chesterfield County.
