The actions of a neighbor may have saved the life of a 67-year-old man who was attacked and mauled on Tuesday by a group of dogs.
Family members said James Bright was walking to his aunt's house, as he does each day, when four Cane Corsos began attacking him.
Louis Clegg said he came upon the scene and saw the dogs tearing away at Bright, 10TV's Kevin Landers reported.
"(His) pants were tore apart, legs chewed up (and) the back of his head was mangled," Clegg said.
Clegg said he jumped in his car and used the vehicle to scare the dogs away.
"I was a foot away from the man," he said. "I backed up, honked the horn and charged to scare them off."
It was enough to stop the dogs from mauling Bright. The owner of the dogs appeared a short time later and corralled the animals, Landers reported.
The owner, Virgil Mitchell III, has not been charged in connection with Tuesday's attack, but court records showed he had been cited eight times from 2002 to 2008 for violations that included allowing his dogs to run at large and failing to immunize them for rabies, Landers reported.
Mitchell could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
The dogs were being held at the Delaware County Animal Shelter.
Each of the dogs involved in the attack was being kept in a separate cage, 10TV's Shayla Reaves reported.
The county's assistant dog warden could not comment on the case, but police said animal control officers were finishing paperwork in connection with the attack.
Charges were filed against the dog's owner on Wednesday afternoon, Reaves reported.
Bright, who was airlifted by helicopter to Grant Medical Center in Columbus after the attack, was expected to survive his wounds. He was recovering from skin grafting surgery Reaves reported.
Bright's son told 10TV News that he spoke with his father, and his father expressed relief that it was him and not a child that was attacked.
"When I talked to my dad that's the first thing he said, 'Thank God it wasn't a kid,'" said John Bright.
Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for additional information.
Previous Stories:
October 5, 2010:
Charges Expected Against Owner Of Dogs That Attacked Man
October 5, 2010:
Man Hospitalized After Being Attacked By Dogs
