Man Airlifted To Hospital After Being Mauled By 8-Foot Alligator Following Bike Crash

A Florida man reportedly had to be airlifted to a hospital after he was brutally mauled by an 8 to 10-foot alligator following a bike crash at a local park on Monday.

The unfortunate incident happened at the Halpatiokee Regional Park in Stuart, located along the 8300 block of Southwest Lost River Road outside West Palm Beach on Monday morning, July 19. The man reportedly fell off his bike before being suddenly attacked by an angry alligator.

After the arrival of authorities and emergency medical services, he was airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries for immediate treatment, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSCO).

Paramedics rushed to the spot and loaded the man into a medevac helicopter at Halpatiokee Regional Park immediately after the attack. He was then flown to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center with traumatic injuries, the MCSO said. The authorities have not released further information regarding the incident.

The 8 to 10-foot female alligator, that reportedly attacked the man, was later captured alive at the park. The authorities have also captured another alligator in the area, ABC News reported.

John Davidson, an Alligator trapper, who was called in to assist, concluded that the bicyclist fell off his bike while he was taking a sharp turn and fell onto the alligator who was in nearby water. Davidson said that the alligator reacted and bit the man “two or three times,” according to New York Daily News.

The territorial alligator did not flee the scene of the mauling indicating that her nest was nearby, Davison said. He added that the man did not lose any body parts.

Davidson said that the creek where the man fell is one of the skinniest parts of the trail and that there's a 6-foot drop from the bike path to the creek. There were at least 12 incidents of alligators biting people reported in Florida last year, according to the Florida Wildlife Commission.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a Florida diver who was reportedly searching for prehistoric shark teeth was brutally attacked by an alligator at Florida’s Myakka River, in Sarasota County on May 30, Penn Live reported.

Jeffrey Heim, 25, reportedly sustained a skull fracture and puncture wounds on his hand from the alligator attack. He also received a wound to the back of his head that required 34 staples to close.

When the alligator attacked him, Heim initially thought that he was hit by a boat propeller. Following the attack, Heim backed away, climbed back onto the riverbank, and called people over for help. Despite being brutally attacked and left with severe injuries, Heim said that he hopes the alligator does not get killed.