Pit Bull Mauls Man To Death On Joliet's Arthur Avenue

JOLIET, IL — A 46-year-old man died at Silver Cross Hospital following a vicious pit bull attack at a Joliet house in the 1200 block of Arthur Avenue. At 6:27 p.m., a Joliet Fire Station 4 ambulance crew rushed to a house on Arthur Avenue for a dog bite incident, fire Chief Greg Blaskey said.

The man, identified Friday as Erick J. Quinn of Joliet, was found on the floor with no pulse. He was not breathing, and a Joliet police officer performed CPR on the victim, the fire chief said.

"The patient was a victim of a dog mauling, from a single dog, and suffered traumatic cardiac arrest due to the injuries caused by dog bites," Blaskey said. "The victim did not live at this residence, but was there to visit."

According to Joliet police, officers were called to the house shortly 6:20 p.m. for a dog attack. The victim was unresponsive and he had extensive injuries to his body.

"Officers immediately began providing medical attention prior to arrival by the Joliet Fire Department," Joliet police announced.

Quinn was pronounced dead at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox at 7:11 p.m., according to the Will County Coroner's Office.

Thursday night's Joliet police investigation revealed that two people at the house "were involved in a loud argument. The dog, a 5-year-old pit bull terrier named Kaedo, became agitated by the argument. (Quinn) attempted to intervene to calm the dog, at which time the dog began repeatedly attacking the victim."

Joliet police say other people inside the Arthur Avenue house tried unsuccessfully to free Quinn from the pit bull.

"The dog eventually let go and the occupants were able to secure the dog prior to calling 911," Friday's Joliet Police Department news release states.

Joliet Animal Control went to the house and took custody of the dog.

This incident is still under investigation, police added.

Patch news outlets have reported five other deadly dog attacks so far this year in the Chicago area, including one on Joliet's far west side. Those cases involved a fatal dog attack in Plainfield in February, a dog attack that killed a woman in Lake County in May and the death of a 70-year-old woman mauled by her four dogs in June. A 17-month-old toddler was killed pit bull during a Fourth of July party at a Joliet house on Cumberland Drive.

Another fatal dog attack in St. Clair County, Illinois, in August, when a 61-year-old Belleville man was reportedly killed by two dogs owned by his stepson. Thursday night's attack in Joliet is at least the seventh fatal dog attack this year in the state.