Girl Attacked By Rabid Raccoon In Montgomery County

LOWER MERION, PA -- A walk home from school turned violent for a young Lower Merion girl when she was attacked by a rabid raccoon on Thursday.

The girl was walking through a wooded area of the Bridlewild Trail near Dodds Lane in Gladwyne on February 4 when the raccoon made its move.

The sick animal latched on to her leg and was viciously attacking her.

Nearby, by a stroke of pure chance, two men happened to see what was happening, and they rushed to the girl’s rescue.

The men, James Myers and Rick Turnbull of North Philadelphia, pinned the animal by it’s tail while it had a vice grip on the girl’s leg, and beat it with a hockey stick until it let go, Lower Merion police said.

The raccoon was later captured by a Montgomery County animal warden. It tested positive for rabies on February 5.

The girl, meanwhile, is doing well. She is at home and is expected to make a full recovery.

This is the first confirmed case of animal rabies in Montgomery County for 2016, officials said.

In 2015, the county experienced nine cases of of animal rabies, and raccoons were by far the most common rabid animal. Seven raccoons were infected last year, along with a bat and a deer.