Brittany Clark, Orlando, Florida woman killed in alligator attack while dipping into Econlockhatchee River to ‘cool off’ only to have both arms ripped off. 911 transcript released reveals extent of horror at time of attack as boyfriend, Chance Allison fought to save her while friend, Jayden Hernandez watched tragedy unfold.
A 31-year-old Florida woman died after an alligator bit off her arm while swimming at a state park near Orlando on Sunday.
Brittany Clark of Orlando, FL., had been hiking with her boyfriend and her best friend Sunday in Little Big Eco State Forest when they waded into the Econlockhatchee River to cool off, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
They were kneeling in 3-foot-deep water when a roughly 13-foot alligator suddenly attacked around 1:30 p.m. and bit her arms.
‘OK, both her arms, both her arms, both her arms are off, like, basically.’
During the attack, Clark’s boyfriend, Chance Allison was still ‘trying to get her arms away from the alligator’s mouth’ when he called 911 for help according to Grant Eller, a lieutenant with FFWCC.
Screams and crying can be heard in the background as what sounds like a female on the phone line telling the emergency dispatcher, ‘OK, both her arms, both her arms, both her arms are off, like, basically.’
The dispatcher tells her that help is on the way and asks, ‘Does she still have her arms attached to her?’
‘One of them is, like, very hanging on [by a] thread, and the other was off,’ the female on the phone replies.
When the dispatcher asks again where the other arm is, the female on the phone answers, ‘Gone.’
Then there is more screaming as the two friends, carrying the mortally wounded Clark, try to get the attention of the arriving rescue workers.
Group had joked abot bubbles in the water being a ‘hidden alligator’
Clark’s friend, Jayden Hernandez, who was on the trip with the boyfriend and girlfriend, said she will ‘never forget’ what happened and described it as a devastating moment that she witnessed firsthand.
In a social media post, she said Clark, Allison, and herself had been standing in about three feet of murky water when they made light jokes about possible movement beneath the surface.
Hernandez recalled noticing small air bubbles in the water and joking that it could be a hidden alligator, with Allison even swimming over the area to show nothing was there. She said they laughed it off, never imagining what would happen moments later.
Hernandez said they called emergency services immediately, but help felt like it took forever to arrive—though it was about 12 minutes. She described those minutes as agonizing while her friend remained strong despite her injuries.
Victim remembered
Clark, who worked as a bulldozer operator, ‘was such an amazing and caring person and didn’t deserve to go out in such a way,’ her boyfriend Chance Allison said in a text message Tuesday to NBC News.
Clark was ‘the strongest and most outgoing person’ Allison said he’s ever known.
The victim ‘loved going out on the water every chance she could’ and never ‘in a million years would we have seen this nightmare come about,’ according to Allison.
Clark died before rescue workers could get her to a hospital, officials said.
‘The FWC extends its deepest sympathies to the victim’s family and loved ones,’ according to an agency statement. ‘Our thoughts are with you during this difficult time.’
