- March 6, 2025
UPDATED at 3:37 p.m. Monday
A 27 year-old western Flagler County woman was attacked Sunday night by what were reported to be five pit bulls as she and her 6-year-old daughter walked near their home on Holly Lane, in Daytona North, authorities said.
Deputies said Brandi Bookamer was able to protect her daughter from the dogs and told her to run home, saving the daughter from injury.
Deputies responded to the area of Mahogany Boulevard and Holly Lane at 8:14 p.m., after receiving a report of the incident. Deputies located the woman who sustained numerous puncture wounds and lacerations.
Bookamer was taken by ambulance to the Flagler County Airport and then airlifted to Halifax Hospital by Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Air One helicopter.
Bookamer was listed in “satisfactory condition” around 3 p.m. Monday, according to Lt. Bob Weber, public information officer for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
She was not scheduled to be released on Monday, Weber added.
Kelly Maxwell, who lives in Palm Coast, happened to be visiting a friend last night when a neighbor knocked on the door, telling them to call 911 because someone was yelling for help.
Maxwell, who is a nursing student, went with the man to where the screams were coming from.
When they got there, they couldn’t see Bookamer. They could only hear the screams see the five pit bulls attacking the woman.
She described it as five hungry pit bulls that were viciously eating one bowl of food. “They just surrounded her and mauled her,” Maxwell described, adding that they were biting Bookamer anywhere they could: arms, legs, chest, neck and her back.
The man had a pellet gun and fired two shots to scare the dogs away, Maxwell said.
Bookamer had jumped into a water-filled ditch to try and elude the dogs, and so Maxwell and the man pulled her out of the water and covered her with a vest and a sheet.
“Her wounds were tremendous,” Maxwell said of Bookamer. “They were mostly punctures and lacerations, but it was one of the worst attacks I have personally seen.
Bookamer then laid her head on Maxwell’s knees while help was called for.
Another man, who was in a car nearby, gave Bookamer a bottle of water.
“She kept saying she was dying and that she was going to die, but I reassured her help was on the way, and that I wasn’t leaving her side until they got there,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell, who owns two pit bulls, said she doesn’t blame the breed. She says it’s a lack of responsibility by the owners. She said this isn’t the first time those pit bulls have attacked, either.
“Anytime you even drove by the house, they were all at the fence going crazy,” Maxwell said. “These dogs have gotten out before and attacked other animals and chased after people. Unfortunately, someone got badly hurt this time.”
Animal Control has been called to the home of James Hays before because of aggressive dogs, according to a Sheriff's Office report. The case was treated as non-criminal, and no law enforcement action was taken, the report states.
Deputies located the dogs believed to be involved in the incident at 6217 Mahogany Boulevard and notified Animal Control officials, who responded to the residence and took possession all five dogs.
ORIGINAL STORY
A 27 year-old western Flagler County woman was attacked Sunday night by what were reported to be five pit bulls as she and her 6-year-old daughter walked near their home on Holly Lane, in Daytona North, authorities said.
Deputies said the woman was able to protect her daughter from the dogs and told her to run home, saving the daughter from injury.
Deputies responded to the area of Mahogany Boulevard and Holly Lane at 8:14 p.m., after receiving a report of the incident. Deputies located the woman, identified as Brandi Bookamer, who sustained numerous puncture wounds and lacerations. The extent of her injuries is unknown at this time, but it was not believed that any of the wounds were life threatening.
Bookamer was taken by ambulance to the Flagler County Airport and then airlifted to Halifax
Hospital by Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Air One.
Deputies located the dogs believed to be involved in the incident at 6217 Mahogany Boulevard and notified Animal Control officials, who responded to the residence and took possession all five dogs.
