PIT BULL ATTACK LANDS ONE IN THE HOSPITAL

A man walking in South Mountain Reservation on Monday was attacked by a pit bull whose owner had let him off the leash, and was hospitalized with a severed finger, according to the Essex County Sheriff's Office.

The victim, a Montclair resident, was walking his own dog, a leashed German Shepard, at 1 p.m. on Monday when a white pit bull came "from out of nowhere," according to Essex County Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Lynch. He said the victim tried to fight off the pit bull, as did his own dog, but he suffered a severed finger.

The victim, who was not identified, was taken to St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. The pitbull's owner, Pablo Bergamasco, 28, of Kearny, was issued a summons for failing to control his animal with a leash.

The pit bull was taken into custody and placed in the care of the Livingston Animal Shelter for a 10-day observation period, Lynch said. Maplewood Police responded along with Millburn Police.