Swarming bees kill dog, attack 2 women in Santa Clarita

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (KABC) -- A dog was killed and two women and another dog were stung multiple times in an attack by a hive of killer bees in Santa Clarita.

Patricia Wightman still has the welts from the attack on her face, her neck and shoulders.

The bees took over a hive in a pepper tree in Wightman's yard.

On Sunday, they first went after her neighbor, Jill Suleski, and her two dogs.

Patricia jumped in to try to help them and was also attacked.

Both dogs were stung dozens of times.

Nicki was the lucky one, surviving the attack.

But the venom from the stings proved to be too much for her smaller dog. Gabriel, who weighed about 45 pounds, passed away a few days after the attack.

"They just kept coming and coming and coming. It was terrible," Suleski said.

Jill feels horrible about the loss, but she also knows she is lucky to be OK. She is allergic to bees.

Patricia jumped in to protect her, and despite being swarmed she was somehow able to reach firefighters for help. They first covered her with foam to try to smother the bees and then put her in the fire truck.

"The fire department got a lot of them off my face, and they got 35 bees off my hair," she said. "And at the hospital they found one bee in my hair and they got 40 stingers out of my scalp."

A beekeeper removed the hive and sealed the opening in the tree.

After a visit to the emergency room both women are expected to be OK. But they will never forget Gabriel.

They will also never forget the sound of a swarm of Africanized honey bees on the attack.