Clinton D. McHaley, 49, Humboldt, was treated and released from an area hospital Saturday after being involved in an altercation that led to him being attacked by a dog and then hit by a car.
Melissa Nielsen, McHaley’s wife, told the Register that her husband was attacked while giving a ride to Andrew Lynn Bailey, 35, Ottawa.
Nielsen spelled out the bizarre circumstances surrounding the altercation shortly before midnight Saturday evening.
McHaley and Nielsen had agreed to give Bailey a ride for a friend in Chanute, Nielsen said. They were returning from Ottawa with Bailey and his dog, described as an American bulldog.
The couple had never met Bailey before, Nielsen said.
Nielsen suspects Bailey had been drinking because he became increasingly belligerent, which in turn led McHaley to threaten to pull over and leave Bailey and his dog at the roadside.
The threat did not go over well.
Bailey became increasingly upset, forcing McHaley to pull over the side of the road, at which time the pair exited the vehicle and began to scuffle.
The dog joined the fray, biting McHaley on the arm.
“They were right in the middle of the road,” Nielsen said.
As the dispute continued, just south of the Anderson-Franklin counties line north of Garnett on U.S. 169, McHaley was hit by a passing vehicle driven by Daniel L. Bailey, Kahoka, Mo., no relation to Andrew Bailey.
“Apparently, the other driver said he was so distracted by the dog in the road that he didn’t see my husband,” Nielsen said.
McHaley received a glancing blow, although doctors later noted tire marks on his arm.
“That’s how they realized he had been hit,” Nielsen said.
McHaley was treated for abrasions on his arm, one on his head, and the dog bite, as well as a number of scrapes up and down his body.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said Andrew Bailey was arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery and taken to Anderson County Jail. He was released on $5,000 bond.
Humboldt man survives triple whammy
