Paddleboarder helps save woman attacked by gator in Marion County river
Good Samaritan helps rescue woman attacked by alligator at Silver Springs
A Good Samaritan helped rescue a woman after an alligator attacked her at Silver Springs in Marion County, using a paddle to try to drive the animal away before helping control the woman's bleeding.
MARION COUNTY, Fla. - A paddleboarder helped save a woman after she was attacked by an alligator in the Silver River in Marion County.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigators say a woman was in the water when an alligator lunged at her.
To the rescue
Mike Head, who was out on the water with his wife, young daughters and sons, spoke exclusively with FOX 35's Laryssa Leone about the frantic moments that followed.
Head said it was supposed to be a fun family day on the water, but everything changed when two women started screaming, "gator!"
"It was almost like a missile, and it would just kind of... I could just see the back of it," Head said. "I was probably...20, 30 foot away. And I could see it going over to her. I was in this kind of like, this can't be happening."
With seconds to spare, Head had a massive choice to make. He was relieved he could help, but admitted he feared the gator would turn on him and his children.
"Is she dead? Do I dive in, and now I'm going to get ripped apart myself?" Head recalled. "There's a lot of things going through my head, trying to figure out what I was doing as I was paddling on this thing towards her."
When he reached the woman, Head said the gator's jaws were locked onto her arm. Running on pure adrenaline, Head used his paddle as a weapon to fend off the reptile.
"I couldn't swing because I knew I was going to hit her in the head from my position, so I come around the other side... And then I swing, because I can see it still, and I don't know if I hit it or not. I just know that it was gone after I hit," Head said.
Another boater rushed in to help pull the woman to shore. Head quickly used a rope to tie off her bleeding wound.
"It's a disturbing situation," he said. My boys are right here... I get the rope, pull it over, tie it around once." "She literally turns... she's looking at me, and she's like, 'tie it tight.'"
Head tells FOX 35 he is just thankful the woman survived.
At last check, she was in good spirits and recovering from her bite wounds.
Meanwhile, contracted trappers with the FWC captured and removed a 9-foot, 8-inch alligator on Sunday, allowing Marion County officials to reopen the Silver River to the public.
The Source: This story was written with information released by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Marion County officials and with information FOX 35 reporter Laryssa Leone gathered after talking with Good Samaritan Mike Head.