On Friday night, Walter Rudder was driving into his neighborhood in Northeast Naples, Florida, when he came upon his neighbor, Rick Fingeret lying on the road. Fingeret had been walking his two labradors when he was attacked by an 11-foot alligator, who had a firm grip on the 67-year-old’s leg and was dragging him toward a nearby pond.
Rudder got out to check on his neighbor while his wife called 911. Then, at Fingeret’s request, he drove over the massive gator with his car, forcing it to release the man from his jaws and run back into the water. Rudder’s wife applied a t-shirt to the wounded thigh until paramedics arrived minutes later. Fingeret was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where he’s being treated for puncture wounds.
Trappers called in by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission later captured the alligator and relocated it. Fortunately, Fingeret is expected to make a full recovery but says he’s not sure what might have happened had Rudder not come by at just the right time.
Source: CLEVELAND 19