Man on crack rescued from alligator

But that hasn't been enforced in recent years if the worker isn't planning to enter the enclosure, he said. After pulling the handler into its pen, the alligator began whipping around and kept its jaws clamped on her as she struggled to break free.

One of the guests, later identified as Donnie Wiseman, yelled "We've got trouble in here! Wiseman got the alligator pinned, and the handler calmly gave him and another man, Todd Christopher, instructions to help her escape from the pool. Wiseman stayed on top of the reptile until after the woman was free. Christopher's wife, who has a background in nursing, then began performing first aid before emergency crews arrived. Meanwhile, Apgar kept screaming.

About five minutes into the nearly eight-minute call, the operator suggested Mayid tell Apgar to punch the alligator. Polk County deputies arrived about two minutes later and soon reached Apgar in the water.

After a tug-of-war with the gator, three deputies and their sergeant were able to rescue Apgar and carry him to shore. The rescue took about 20 minutes. Judd said Apgar was naked and told deputies he had been smoking crack. Andrew Williams — carried Apgar about 40 feet, up a steep incline and to an ambulance ashore. None of the four was injured in the gator-infested waters. The deputies' boots sunk in mud with each step they took, and the water lapped chest-high on some.

It took several efforts to get the 6-foot-1, pound man out of the water even after the gator let loose because they were exhausted. They had to find the man by sound, through thick brush and cattails in the middle of the night. A state wildlife official said investigators are unsure whether Apgar was on land or in the water when he was attacked.

Holding the alligator wasn't so tough, but prying open the jaws was "extremely hard," he said. Read More. Wilbanks said his hands were "chewed up," and he went to a doctor for a tetanus shot. Gunner had one puncture wound in his belly and did fine after a trip to the veterinarian's office. The pair out walking before the gator lunged. Wilbanks agrees with that mission and he doesn't want the alligator removed from the pond or destroyed.