Mitchell Driggers, 31, of 1983 Wilderness Road, Dillon, is charged with Animal Penalties for Owning Dangerous Animals and Attacking and Injuring a Human, according to Cpt. Cliff Arnette at the Dillon County Sheriff's Office.
“He was out there on a call and encountered these dogs. They were not in a pen or a fence, as far as we can tell. They were out in the open,” Arnett said.
The man was able to call 911 to report the emergency at some point, Arnett said, but he suffered severe injuries in the attack. When deputies arrived at the scene, the dogs were still attacking Rogers so the deputies shot and killed them.
The victim underwent emergency surgery immediately and remains in an area hospital. His mother, Angela Rogers, said doctors kept her son in a medically-induced coma for about a week. He is now awake and remembers everything about the attack, she said.
“He’s making progress and doing better everyday,” Angela Rogers said Tuesday.
“He’s been in the hospital three weeks today and I think he’ll probably be discharged in a few days,” she said. “Of course, he’ll still have a ways to go with his recovery. He had bites and lacerations all over his body, some deeper than others, so the recovery is going to take some time and therapy. But he’s definitely a miracle. The Lord has been with him and His hand was there the day this happened. That deputy got there quickly and saved his life by shooting those dogs. They weren’t going to get off of him. It’s terrible that it happened but we have been blessed. He’s a true miracle.”
Driggers was booked at the Dillon County Detention Center shortly after he turned himself in Tuesday morning. He was later released on a $5,000 surety bond, according to jail officials.
Under South Carolina law, a person who is the owner of a dangerous animal that attacks and injures a human is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than three years.
(SCNow - Feb 25, 2014)
