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SACRAMENTO — Three pit bulls attacked a 43-year-old Sacramento woman as she was walking down the street, tearing an artery in her leg, before a construction worker and a sheriff’s deputy stepped in to save her, police said. 

“There’s a good chance she would have died without their help,” said Sacramento Police Sgt. Daniel Hahn. 

Debra Scott was taken by ambulance Tuesday to UC Davis Medical Center, where she remained in fair condition Thursday morning. She had been in danger of bleeding to death as a result of a torn artery in her right leg. 

Despite the help of the construction worker, whose name was not released, the pit bulls continued to attack Scott until sheriff’s Deputy Alex McCamy passed by while on patrol, police said. The deputy fired two or three shots, killing one dog and scaring off the other two. 

Angel Dreyden, who lives down the street from where the attack took place, said she went outside after she heard the shots. “I saw the (woman), her right leg and stomach looked really bad.” 

Officials said they cannot pinpoint who owns the dogs, but Hahn said an animal control officer tracked the bulls that fled to a yard in the 4500 hundred block of 12th Avenue. 

The dog’s ownership remained under investigation, Hahn said. The dogs wore thick collars but had no tags.