A 74-year-old Florida woman was gardening when an alligator attacked. She had a shovel
A shovel possibly saved a 74-year-old Florida woman’s life in Verona Walk, near Naples, on Thursday morning.
Greater Naples Fire Chief Nolan Sapp said the unnamed victim was outside her home gardening when she was attacked, WINK news reported.
The approximately seven-foot-long reptile reportedly pulled her into a nearby canal and chomped into her right leg.
Her neighbor David Webb told NBC2 that he heard screaming and then ran out to see her in the water fighting off the gator.
The woman escaped by hitting the animal with a shovel about “20 to 30 times in the head before it let go,” recounted Webb, who gave her a beach towel to stem the flow of blood.
The woman was taken to a local hospital, but her condition is unknown.
The gator was caught by a trapper that night, according to The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 11:16 AM.
