Ann Arbor.com: Loose dog runs into Milan bicyclist, causing serious injuries
Posted: May 19, 2010 at 3:45 PM [Yesterday]
A Milan woman was injured in Monroe County Tuesday night when a large dog ran into her bicycle on Milwaukee Road, knocking her to the pavement.
Dawn Spack, 49, was released from St. Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital early this morning after receiving nine staples to close two cuts on her head.
“I have nothing against the dog,” Spack said. “I’m an animal person. I just want the owners to have it under control when people are riding by.”
Linda Benson, director of Monroe County Animal Control, said an officer is investigating. It’s illegal to allow a dog to stray beyond its property if the dog isn’t leashed and under control, the county’s animal control ordinance says. The owners could face a ticket ranging from $50 to $200, Benson said.
“The owners are the ones at fault,” Benson said. “That dog should have been restrained. (Spack) could have been killed.”
The owners have not yet been identified.
Spack said she was traveling east on Milwaukee Road at about 15 miles per hour at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. She was in the middle of her 12-mile daily bicycle ride on the same route she has taken for six years.
Spack said she was wearing earphones, listening to music. She wasn’t paying extra attention to the house where she’s seen a large mixed-breed dog running loose on several occasions, she said. The dog appears to have some Rottweiler in it and weigh more than 100 pounds, Spack said.
The dog bolted from its property and ran across the road toward the left side of her bicycle.
“I heard this bark and I looked up and I screamed, ‘No!’ as loud as I could.”
“He hit that bike going full force enough to knock it out from under me. I went up and slammed down on the pavement.”
Spack was not wearing a helmet. A driver stopped and helped her, getting a rag from the dog owner’s house for Spack to put on her head, which was bleeding.
Spack does not recall anyone from the owner’s house checking on her. The woman who stopped to help Spack gave her a ride home. Spack’s boyfriend drove her to the hospital.
In addition to cuts on her head, Spack suffered bruises to the left side of her body, including her hip and elbow. Her ribs hurt when she breathes, she said.
Spack was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt when the incident occurred, which she said protected her from suffering too many scrapes. Spack, who is an office manager at an Ann Arbor dental office, missed work today.
“I could hardly move this morning,” she said.
Spack has been riding bicycles for 30 years and said she has never been in an accident. She is hopeful the dog’s owners will agree to cover any medical expenses that aren’t covered under her health insurance. And she hopes they’ll address the issue.
“I want to ride by that house and not be attacked again,” she said.
