LCSO investigates possible dog attack in teen’s mini-bike crash
The Llano County Sheriff’s Office is looking into a motorbike accident involving a Kingsland teen that might have been caused by a dog attack, according to the victim’s family.
Jeremiah Everett, 17, crashed his mini-bike Saturday, Oct. 4, while riding home on Anson Street in Kingsland. He sustained severe injuries to his face and a concussion after falling to the road, according to his mother, Ashley Sconci.
Sconci told DailyTrib.com the accident was likely caused by two dogs chasing her son. She said the canines also might have attacked him while he was unconscious following the crash.
“I don’t wish harm on animals, but when they’re attacking children, it’s too much,” she said. “I thank God that it wasn’t worse.”
LCSO is investigating.
“(The teen) sustained injuries while riding, but we don’t know exactly what happened,” LCSO Chief Deputy Tracy Taylor told DailyTrib.com. “We’re still looking into it. We can’t confirm or deny whether or not a dog bite was involved.”
No specific dogs or their owners have been publicly identified in the investigation.
Kingsland is an unincorporated community and does not have its own police department. The Llano County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for law enforcement in the town, and its animal control officers investigate instances such as the possible dog attack on Jeremiah.
The Marble Falls High School junior and JV football player likely won’t return to school for at least a week as his injuries heal, his mother said. He might not be back on the football field this season. Sconci also said her son is being monitored for head trauma and treated for rabies. He has been in and out of doctor’s appointments since the accident occurred and has more scheduled.
THE FAMILY’S ACCOUNT
According to Sconci, her son told her two dogs were charging him on Anson Street on Saturday and he attempted to turn his small motorized bike around to escape.
As he tried to get away, he hit a drainage pipe and was thrown onto the street. Sconci believes Jeremiah was knocked unconscious. When he regained consciousness, his bike was missing and there was no sign of the dogs.
The family is asking anyone with information on the missing mini-bike to contact them on Facebook.
After the accident, Jeremiah called his mother, who picked him up and immediately took him to the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Marble Falls, where he spent eight hours being treated for the extensive wounds he suffered in the wreck.
Sconci said Jeremiah’s doctor believed some of his injuries could have been caused by dog bites and that he would be treated for rabies.
She said Jeremiah did recall two dogs chasing him before the wreck, but he did not remember anything that happened after the crash until he was in the hospital.
“He just kept saying, ‘I don’t know,’” she said. “I could tell something wasn’t right.”
Jeremiah’s doctors also diagnosed him with a concussion, Sconci said.
Sconci said stray and aggressive dogs are an issue in Kingsland.
“This is not the first time we’ve had problems with (dogs),” she said. “It’s a big problem (in Kingsland). I used to have to ask my fiancé to walk me out to the car in the morning because I was worried about them.”