A Georgia teen was taking a walk on a Friday afternoon when things took a terrifying turn. After finding herself being chased, she was soon left fighting for her life in intensive care.
Joslyn Stinchcomb — a 15-year-old avid walker of Barrow County, Georgia — was taking a stroll in her Winder neighborhood on a Friday afternoon when her casual walk took a horrific turn. While enjoying what should have been a relaxing outing, Joslyn soon found herself being chased and attacked, and the entire ordeal left her fighting for her life in intensive care at an Atlanta hospital.
According to a Barrow County Sheriff’s report, a call was received after a witness saw Joslyn being chased and attacked by a pair of pit bulls. When the dogs caught up with the girl, they began mercilessly mauling the teen, leaving her face down against a curb, where a sheriff’s deputy found her. When the deputy responded, one dog was grabbing Joslyn’s neck and the other was biting her head.
“She was coming around the cul-de-sac and the dogs just attacked, no provocation at all,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said, according to WSB-TV.
As the deputy got out of his vehicle, one of the dogs rushed him. He shot it in the head, wounding the dog, which then ran off, Classic City News reported. The other dog released its grip on the girl and also ran away, according to the police report. Sadly, however, the damage was already done.
Paramedics rushed to Joslyn’s aid, and she was flown by helicopter to Grady Memorial Hospital. Three days after the attack, she was still fighting for her life in critical condition. According to Charity Stinchcomb Montgomery, Josly’s aunt who’s acting as a spokesperson for the family, Joslyn had to be given a tracheostomy and placed on a ventilator due to her trachea being so badly damaged.
“Joslyn’s trachea was crushed and lacerated. She had surgery to repair it but it will take weeks to heal. In the meantime a trach has been out in place and she is on a vent to breathe for her,” Montgomery shared on Facebook.
The teen, who was a freshman at Winder-Barrow High School and a flutist in the Bulldoggs marching band, also lost her hair after one of the dogs tore off her scalp. The family does not believe she will ever be able to grow hair again. She also suffered lacerations all over her face and body with so much nerve damage that it “may affect her smile, her blinking, and other facial expressions,” according to the girl’s aunt.
“Those murderous dogs also grabbed her hair hard enough to pull her entire scalp off. She only has a small portion of skin left on her head. At this moment she does not have any hair left. She will never have her hair again,” Montgomery wrote. “There may be implants and things that can be done, but it will be over a year before those discussions can even begin.”
In addition, Joslyn’s ear was ripped off, and although the doctors were able to reattach it, Montgomery said it was not clear if the ear will be viable or whether Joslyn will be able to hear with it again. They “don’t know if she will be able to hear out of that ear,” Montgomery explained.
Perhaps most horrific is the fact that some of the teen’s injuries indicate the desperate fight Joslyn Stinchcomb put up for her life while being attacked. “She also has asphalt in the tips of her fingers where it appears she tried to claw her way away from those dogs,” Montgomery revealed, painting a gruesome picture of what Joslyn endured.
Two days after the brutal and vicious attack, doctors also discovered that Joslyn had a blood clot in her jugular vein. “There is still so much that we don’t know about her injuries, but we know that God knows and that can heal her,” Montgomery said as the family asked people around the world to pray as Joslyn faces extensive therapy and surgeries in hopes of repairing nerves in her face, vocal cords, and airway.
As for the dogs responsible, they were later located at their owner’s residence and taken into custody by Barrow County Animal Control before being euthanized. The sheriff said they escaped through a rear door that had been left open. The owner, 29-year-old Alexandria Torregrossa, was arrested for reckless conduct after she returned home, according to the report.
“She was charged with reckless conduct, two dogs running at large, two counts of biting and attacking,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said. “Gruesome attack. Very tragic for this young lady and her family,” he added, reminding others to keep dogs leashed or appropriately confined.
Meanwhile, as the family asked for help with medical bills, fake GoFundMe campaigns were popping up, showing the vast depravity of the world we live in. “My parents (Joslyn’s guardians) have not approved these accounts,” Joslyn’s aunt wrote on Facebook, warning others. “Please beware. It’s very sad … that people may use Joslyn’s tragedy for their personal gain.” Sad, indeed.
