San Mateo police hit pit bulls with car to stop rampage

A landscaper was forced to defend himself against two attacking pit bulls using only this leaf blower on Wednesday in San Mateo. A landscaper was forced to defend himself against two attacking pit bulls using only this leaf blower on Wednesday in San Mateo. Photo: Courtesy / San Mateo Police Department Photo: Courtesy / San Mateo Police Department Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close San Mateo police hit pit bulls with car to stop rampage 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

One dog was killed by police and another was captured after the animals went on a rampage in San Mateo on Wednesday morning, authorities said.

Just after 9:30 a.m., officers received a call from a “frantic” male caller saying he had been attacked and nearly bitten by large, aggressive pit bulls on the 600 block of Woodside Way, just a few blocks from San Mateo High School, police said.

As officers were en route, three more people called to report the dogs were chasing people, including a city sanitation worker, around the neighborhood. The first officer on the scene saw the dogs — both between 55 and 70 pounds, according to police — and followed them until they ran into a yard and attacked a landscaper, who was forced to defend himself with a leaf blower he was using as the dogs repeatedly bit at the device, police said.

Fearing for the landscaper, the officer used an air horn to divert the dogs’ attention; they then began biting and clawing at the driver’s side door of his patrol vehicle. After abandoning the vehicle, the dogs ran south toward the high school and police dispatchers alerted officials there to keep everyone inside, police said.

Backup officers arrived and tried to corner the dogs near the corner of East Bellevue Avenue and North Claremont Street, police said, but the pair became more aggressive.

At one point, the dogs sprinted toward a woman pushing two children in a stroller, forcing the woman to put herself between them and the animals. Officers were again able to divert the attention of the pair with an air horn, police said, but the dogs escaped an attempt to contain them, running west toward the campus of Stanbridge Academy, a school for children with learning disabilities in the 500 block of East Poplar Avenue, police said.

Unable to safely corral the dogs as they ran toward the school, an officer hit both animals with his car, killing one instantly. The second dog got up and retreated to its home, less than a quarter mile away, police said.

Officers from San Mateo County Animal Control surrounded the residence and captured the dog with help from its owner. While at the residence, police were alerted to another woman who was bitten by both dogs before the first report. She suffered puncture wounds to her legs and biceps, police said, and was treated and released at the scene.

“It is always our first intention to respond to and remedy aggressive or wild animal incidents in the most humane manner possible,” the San Mateo Police Department said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate that the events of this incident did not allow for that to happen.”

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale