(Miami) An 85-year-old woman was killed by an alligator in Florida while walking her dog by a lake at a retirement residence, US media reported.
A neighbor at this residence in Spanish Lakes Fairways, Fort Pierce, said she saw the victim, who came to the rescue of her dog attacked Monday by the 3-meter-long reptile, being in turn swept away in the water.
“I just remember her coming up to the surface and taking a gulp of air. I told her: “Swim to the pedal boat” and she replied “I can’t, the alligator is holding me”, said this neighbor, identified only by her first name, Carol, by the local channel WPBF.
Carol, 77, then called the emergency services and tried to rescue her friend with a pole, but “she was no longer there”.
The dog survived, but its owner succumbed to his injuries, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Agency (FWC) told the media, which offered its condolences to the relatives of the victim.
The alligator, spotted in particular thanks to a helicopter from the local sheriff’s office, was captured. It weighed around 300 kg, according to one of the employees of the company specializing in the capture of these beasts, quoted by WPBF.
These reptiles are common in Florida, occasionally crossing the street or soaking up the sun on golf club turf.
But according to the FWC, the chance of a Florida resident being injured by them is only one in 3.1 million. Furthermore, between 1948 and 2021 – the latest figures available – only 26 bites have been fatal.
According to Carol, the victim, a “quiet and kind” person who has not yet been identified, was a widow.