This Florida traffic jam wasn’t from a crash or the weather. Blame an unusual motorist
So many Florida drivers have no idea how to merge into traffic without causing an accident. We might have to look to a true native for some guidance.
A Florida gator.
On Wednesday, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office posted photos of an 11-foot alligator that “took a stroll out of Lake Jesup” and found itself tailgating on northbound State Road 417 and causing a traffic jam.
“I was wondering what that backup was, everyone was getting off at 434. Thankfully it wasn’t an accident,” Deborah Winterhalter posted on the sheriff’s Facebook post.
“So that’s why it took me an hour to get home on a normal 20-minute commute,” added Susan Hyatt. “I got off at 434 which then proceeded to get backed up because of everyone else taking 434.”
Fox 35 sent a chopper to snap photos of the “motorist” causing all the commotion. The gator was almost certainly a male as the average female size is 8 feet while males average 11 feet, like this one, according to Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
A Fox 35 viewer, Juliana Grace, sent in video for the station’s broadcast as she was driving by and spotted the obstruction.
“It’s a gator!” she said. “That’s what’s holding up traffic. Oh my God!” the station reported.
A trapper with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission managed to steer the gator out of traffic and safely trap and remove the confused beast, NBC2 reported.
