Scott Hollingsworth, Daytona Beach, Florida man survives alligator attack after opening front door after hearing strange noises. Mauling left him needing surgery.
A Florida man had to have emergency surgery after he found himself being attacked by an alligator upon opening his front door Saturday night.
Scott Hollingsworth of Daytona Beach said that he heard a ‘strange noise’ outside his home around 9:42 p.m., and when he stepped outside, ‘something grabbed me on the leg, started shaking violently.’
Can you guess what?
The Florida resident said he didn’t turn on a light, so he didn’t get a good look at his assailant, with the startled man initially thinking he had been attacked by a dog.
‘I stepped back into the house and closed the door,’ Hollingsworth told WESH.
Surprised to fund large gash by side of leg
When he looked down, he saw that he ‘had a large gash in the side of my leg.’
The homeowner, who planned to attend this week’s Bike Week, required surgery for his injury and told WESH that ‘everything’s going well’ — but he ‘probably won’t be biking anytime soon.’
Th Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission arrived on the scene and located the 9-foot alligator still lurking near Hollingsworth’s front door, Fox News reported.
The reptile was euthanized by an agency trapper.
Hollingsworth was lucky to get away with only non-life-threatening injuries.
Said the resident: ‘Fortunately, there’s no damage to my knee, which I was concerned about. Everything’s going well.’
It remained unclear how the predator made its way up to the Daytona Beach resident’s front door.
Unprecedented attack
According to Kevin Officer with Affordable Wildlife Removal, the attack was almost unprecedented and unheard of.
Told the man speaking to FOX35: ‘That’s some crazy Florida stuff. That’s never heard of. Alligators aren’t aggressive to anyone unless threatened or something along those lines. So him being attacked opening the door is like one in a lifetime situation.‘
Hollingsworth’s attack comes weeks after Gloria Serge, 85, was killed by a 10-foot alligator while walking her dog in Fort Pierce, about two hours south of Daytona Beach.
Serge who was walking alongside a lagoon was trying to protect her small dog from a massive 700-pound gator when it dragged her into the lake and to her death. Her dog survived the shocking attack. The attack was the first fatality at the retirement community facility at the hands of the giant but generally docile reptile.
