A homeless Florida man was reportedly attacked by an alligator while swimming in a lake in the middle of the night, losing half his arm, shortly after being warned of the dangers in the water by concerned locals.
The daredevil, identified as a 31-year-old man, was bitten about 2 a.m. Sunday on Lake Monroe in Seminole County, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
He managed to crawl out of the water but collapsed on a nearby road and several good Samaritans rushed to rescue him.
The man was rushed to a nearby hospital where surgeons amputated his arm above the elbow to save his life. According to the FWC.
But the whole nightmare could have been avoided if the brave swimmer had followed the fisherman’s advice.
“I was fishing off the shore, it was getting dark, and I saw something floating probably 500 to 600 feet away,” said John Lawson, who was on the boat that night. He told News 6.
“I asked him if he was OK, and he freaked out, and he said, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m OK,'” Lawson said. “It felt weird going underwater, so I stayed there for about a minute to make sure.”
Lawson’s wife, worried that the man might drown, be hit by a boat or worse, persuaded him to call the police.
“I said, ‘Hey, we’re just trying to help you. You’re out in the dark and you’re either going to get hit by a boat or eaten by a crocodile.’ He said he wasn’t worried about the crocodiles,” Lawson said.
However, the homeless man became enraged and eventually started throwing objects from the water at Lawson.
Officers arrived at the lake and offered the man blankets and clothes, but he ignored their pleas and continued swimming.
Sometime later, the man fell victim to one of the many reptiles that inhabit the lake.
FWC researchers estimate there are more than 1,200 alligators in Lake Monroe, which covers 8,771 acres.
It remains a mystery why the man, who authorities believe to be homeless, was swimming in dangerous waters.
