A Florida alligator attack on the Silver River left a swimmer hospitalized and later recovering at home after losing her right arm, according to relatives and a paddleboarder who helped save her. Mike Head said he was on the water with his wife and children Saturday afternoon in Marion County when he spotted the reptile moving toward the woman at high speed.
Head described the animal as coming at the swimmer “like a missile,” telling Fox 35 that the alligator reached her before he could get between them. By the time he got close, the gator had already locked its jaws onto the woman’s arm. Head said he used his paddle to try to force it away, turning a frightening encounter into a split-second effort to stop a severe injury from becoming worse.
He said he had to be careful not to strike the woman as he fought the animal off. “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,” Head said. “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.”
Another boater helped bring the woman to shore after the attack. Head said he then tied off her bleeding wound with a rope. He recalled that even in the middle of the emergency, the woman told him, “Tie it tight.” The remark captured both the severity of the moment and the composure of someone trying to stay focused while suffering an extreme injury.
Relatives told Fox 35 that the victim is back home, recovering and in good spirits despite having her right arm amputated. The family’s update suggests she survived the attack thanks in part to the rapid response of bystanders on the river, who were able to reach her and get her out of the water before the situation became even more dangerous.
