INTERLACHEN, Fla. — A mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service has died after she was mauled by five dogs when her truck broke down along a North Florida road, deputies said.
Putnam County Sheriff's deputies found 61-year-old Pamela Rock on the ground when they arrived at the scene in Interlachen Lake Estates on Sunday afternoon, the agency said in a news release. They also found the dogs inside a fence at a nearby home.
A nearby resident told deputies they heard Rock screaming for help and saw five dogs attacking her. Several neighbors tried pulling the dogs off the woman and one shot a gun into the air to scare the dogs away, the report said.
Deputies started first aid on the woman, who was severely bleeding. They applied tourniquets until a rescue unit arrived and took her to a hospital, officials said.
Rock was then flown to a trauma center in Gainesville, where she was in critical condition on Monday. On Tuesday, the sheriff's office confirmed she had died from her injuries.
“Our hearts are with the victim and her family as they navigate through this tragic event,” Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said in the post. “It is imperative that dog owners take responsibility in keeping their animals in a secured location for their safety and those around.”
The county's animal control unit took custody of the dogs while the investigation continues.
10 Tampa Bay contributed to this report.