VALLE VISTA, Calif. – Dogs and other animals are struck by cars every day, but it’s rare that someone is convicted of intentionally running one over.

“It usually happens in the middle of the night on a rural road,” said Curt Ransom, regional program manager for the Humane Society of the United States.

Odds are much better when there are witnesses, said Ransom, who was an animal control investigator for 24 years.

If that’s the case, then the driver of a Ford pickup who ran over two dogs on Highway 74 in Valle Vista may have to answer for his actions.

Several witnesses told investigators that the truck swerved to strike a Labrador retriever named Buddy and then made two U-turns before hitting the second dog, an Alaskan malamute called Lucy.

Witnesses said several people were screaming for the driver to stop while he tried to plow into the animals and then made a third U-turn in an apparent attempt to strike a man who was trying to pull the dogs out of the road.

Police are still looking for the owner of a diesel-powered silver truck with raised suspension and loud exhaust that some residents said had been seen in the area before.

This is likely the first time police and animal control officials have seen this type of animal cruelty, where a driver intentionally aimed to hit the dogs, said Riverside County sheriff’s Investigator Jerry Franchville.

“This doesn’t happen here. It’s one thing for someone to maybe swerve and hit a dog and keep going, but it’s unheard of for a driver to keep turning around,” Franchville said. “Someone went out of their way to try and kill those dogs.”