Watch CBS News

Stray Dogs Chase Bicyclist Into Pickup Truck

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — A bike ride through a Riverside neighborhood turned into a nightmare.

Stray dogs started chasing the man, causing him to slam into a pickup truck.

The cyclist said he wishes he'd thought to get off the bike and use it as a weapon against the dogs. But he said it all happened so fast.

"It's going to be hard to walk again, like starting all over again," said the bicyclist, Joseph Franceschi.

He has some pretty severe injuries, but he knows he's lucky to be alive.

Sunday night, he was riding his bicycle down an alley when all of a sudden two dogs started chasing him.

"I just started pedaling fast. Get out of there," said Franceschi.

You can see him trying to get away from the dogs on a security camera video. And you can also see what he didn't at the time -- that a truck was coming down the street at the end of the alley.

"I slammed into the truck. I didn't see. The bike flew," said Franceschi.

Charles Parada ran out of his house when he heard Franceschi crash.

"It was just the worst of coincidences that the truck was coming at that time. The truck didn't strike him, he struck the truck," said Parada.

Animal Services caught the larger dog, a two-year-old German Shepherd. But it didn't have any tags or microchips. It's now being held at one of their shelters while they try to track down the owner. They say this accident would have never happened if the owner had secured the dog in a yard.

"This is why Animal Control is out there collecting stray dogs. So they don't chase people and hurt people," said John Welsh, Riverside County Animal Services.

Parada hopes the dog's owner is found and held responsible.

"I'm just annoyed because I've seen these dogs out before and now its led to this -- somebody being very severely injured here," said Parada.

If you know who the German Shepherd belongs to, Riverside County Animal Services would like to hear from you.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.