Arrest made after 17-year-old girl mauled by pack of dogs in Newberry Springs

NEWBERRY SPRINGS, Calif. (KABC) -- A man has been arrested after a pack of dogs viciously attacked a 17-year-old girl in the San Bernardino County community of Newberry Springs last month.

Craig Arthur Simmons, 61, was arrested Wednesday and booked on suspicion of being the owner of an animal causing serious injury or death, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

The attack occurred on the morning of July 17 in the 30000 block of Newberry Road. The victim's family members say the teen nearly died.

Maria Azpeitia said her daughter, Tracy, was out for a jog on a dirt road not far from the family's home. That's when the teen was "attacked by 10 or more large breed dogs," according to sheriff's officials.

"The dogs bit the victim several times on her legs and arms," the Sheriff's Department said in a news release. "The bites caused large lacerations, abrasions, and removed flesh."

A good Samaritan stepped in to rescue the teen, authorities said. When Azpeitia got to the scene, she said her daughter was unrecognizable.

"I got close to her and she's like, 'Mom, am I still pretty?'" Azpeitia recounted in an interview with Eyewitness News earlier this month. "I said, 'Of course. You're beautiful.'"

Tracy's stepfather, Carlos Ramirez, said she required more than 500 stitches for bites, lacerations and scratches. The teen spent more than three weeks in the hospital.

Sixteen dogs were later seized from a property near the location of the attack. Detectives say the large breed dogs were not fenced, nor were they leashed.

Simmons remains in custody and has a court date scheduled Friday.