3 pit bulls attack man in New Bedford

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. -- Three pit bulls attacked a college student walking along a street in New Bedford on Friday night.

“We saw this guy screaming. Three dogs were attacking him. I tried to make a move, but the dog was chasing me, I came back,” said Jose Goncalves, a witness.

Neighbors said the three dogs got out of their home about a block away from the scene of the attack, and for a while, were just running up and down the streets.

"I seen the dog, running up the street, going crazy," said Gina Deandrade, a neighbor.

The 22-year-old student, who attends the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, was walking on Robeson Street when the three dogs approached him.

Witnesses said the dogs viciously jumped on the student, biting him all over his body. The victim tried to hide behind some bushes to get away, but the dogs were relentless.

Several people tried to jump in and help, with one of them grabbing a baseball bat. Eventually, nearby drivers started honking their horns, and the startled dogs ran off.

“It was biting right here, under his lip, on his arm, on his leg, and then he fell down over there,” said Goncalves.

The victim was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital. The injuries he sustained were so bad, he will likely need reconstructive surgery on his face.

"They just destroyed his face and the legs," said Deandrade.

At least two of the dogs were taken away by Animal Control. The location of the third pit bull is not known.

It's unclear if the dogs' owners will be charged in connection with the attacks.

(Copyright (c) 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)