FAST FACTS:
omari.fleming@wreg.com
(Memphis 2/21/2010) The seconds before two pit bulls set their sites and locked their jaws on Lt. Ray Pelletier are forever seared in his mind.
"It's something I'll never forget," remembers Lt. Ray Pelletier of the Memphis Fire Department. "Everybody on the scene was yelling and screaming my back was to the apartment and at that time I see two dogs running towards us."
There's still blood on the ground where Lt. Pelletier and his partner were trying to help Willie Parker.
The 71-year-old man had a heart attack after being attacked moments before by the same two pit bulls.
Lt. Pelletier says after seeing the dogs charging, his training kicked in.
To protect the patient and his partner he grabbed a piece of medical equipment as fast as he could.
He wasn't fast enough.
"I got the long spine board we carry and used it as a shield between us and the dog. By the time I grabbed it they were on top of us."
One of the dogs locked on to the lieutenant's calf leaving a bite mark and other bruises you can't see.
His partner suffered similar wounds.
- Memphis Firefighter tells how he survived deadly pit bull attack
- Lt. Ray Pelletier used a medical device to shield himself and others
- Attack was so bad one man died, firefighters and others hospitalized
omari.fleming@wreg.com
(Memphis 2/21/2010) The seconds before two pit bulls set their sites and locked their jaws on Lt. Ray Pelletier are forever seared in his mind.
"It's something I'll never forget," remembers Lt. Ray Pelletier of the Memphis Fire Department. "Everybody on the scene was yelling and screaming my back was to the apartment and at that time I see two dogs running towards us."
There's still blood on the ground where Lt. Pelletier and his partner were trying to help Willie Parker.
The 71-year-old man had a heart attack after being attacked moments before by the same two pit bulls.
Lt. Pelletier says after seeing the dogs charging, his training kicked in.
To protect the patient and his partner he grabbed a piece of medical equipment as fast as he could.
He wasn't fast enough.
"I got the long spine board we carry and used it as a shield between us and the dog. By the time I grabbed it they were on top of us."
One of the dogs locked on to the lieutenant's calf leaving a bite mark and other bruises you can't see.
His partner suffered similar wounds.
