The heroism of Bethany Hastings: Mom fought pit bull to save children while fire ants bit her
BONNEAU, SOUTH CAROLINA: Bethany Hastings, a mother-of-two, sought to hold off the dog that was attacking her children in a rage while being bitten by fire ants. A GoFundMe page set up by a relative, Robert Williams, of the Bayles' family, read that the incident occurred on April 26 in the town of Bonneau when an elderly neighbour with dementia stepped onto the Bayles family's land. According to Williams, the children's uncle, the woman was concerned and sought assistance.
Hastings, mother of Lainey and Wesley, assisted the elderly into the family's golf cart and drove her back to her home. According to Williams, when the family arrived at the woman's house, the front door was wide open, and her pit bull came out and attacked them "viciously" in an aggressive mauling.
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"First the dog lunged at their two year old son two times during which he sustained injuries to his face," Williams said. "Their four year old daughter started screaming and the dog then attacked her. Their mother tried to fight the dog off and get her children to safety."
Williams added, "It was then the dog attacked again, ripping her daughter from her hands dragging her to the ground, and causing multiple severe injuries to their little girl's face." The mother eventually got a hold of the dog and pulled it away from her daughter. She was then bitten on the face repeatedly while holding on to the animal for 15 "terrifying" minutes. She was also getting bitten by fire ants all over her body at the same time, according to Williams.
"I didn't have a choice," Hastings told WCSC in Greenville. "If I had let go, he would have gotten me or them again." With no one else nearby to assist her, the mother managed to dial 911 while holding the dog. "During that time she had to endure watching her children screaming for her while they bled," Williams stated on GoFundMe. "She was unable to get to them or provide any medical aid because if she had let the dog go the consequences would have been grave."
Shortly before emergency services arrived, a neighbour arrived on the scene and escorted the children to his truck. After the family was escorted to the hospital, their injuries were treated. The mother and her two-year-old son were released the same night, but the girl had suffered serious injuries and had to stay in the hospital for four days, including two in pediatric intensive care.
Hastings told WCSC, "They hadn't quite seen anything like that before to that extent, with that much damage." In order to treat her face injuries, her daughter will require multiple treatments over the next year or so.
The children are "fortunate to be alive," Williams remarked, adding that the incident has flipped the family's lives "completely upside down." He said he created the GoFundMe campaign because the family is in "dire need" of legal counsel and medical assistance. "My hope is to get their story heard, get the help they need, and to slowly get their lives put back together," he concluded.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dogs attack around 4.5 million individuals in the United States each year. CDC reported that at least half of those affected are children.