Ninety-year-old Margaret Webb was walking in her front yard in the sleepy, southern Collier County town of Copeland when an eight-foot alligator jumped out of a canal and tried to drag her into the water. She survived thanks to a good Samaritan, but one of Webb's legs was amputated as a result.
The attack happened around 12:30 p.m. yesterday. Initial reports suggested the gator actually swallowed the woman's leg, but it appears the animal just badly injured it.
Though she's age 90, Webb was able to hold the gator off by digging her fingers into the ground. That allowed enough time for Dwain Daniels III, who was passing by in a truck, to assist her. The man helped pull Webb to safety, and then shot the gator in the eye with a rifle.
"He looked over, saw the lady on the ground half in the water, wheeled around, and jumped out of his truck to come to her aid," said Jayson Horadam, Captain of Law Enforcement for Florida Wildlife Commission.
The gator did get away however, and officials have not been able to locate it.
Webb was rushed to Lee Memorial Hospital. Doctors were forced to amputate her left leg below the knee, according to WPTV. She is now recovering, but has been put in an induced coma.
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