A trip to the creek turned into a nightmare for a teen in Florida’s panhandle.
On June 22, Summer Hinote was wading in waist deep water with friends at Pond Creek in Okaloosa County when an alligator latched onto her leg.
The 15-year-old said pure instinct kicked in.
“I didn’t know what it was at first, so I just turned my body around and started punching it in the head. It let go and then it grabbed again and then dragged me under the water and shook me around,” she said.
Hinote said she was able to get away and asked one of her friends if her leg was still there.
“He said ‘you’re fine, you’re fine, it’s not that bad but you have to get up. He’s coming up from behind you,” she said.
Hinote said her friend picked her up and helped another girl as they ran up the creek’s bank to get to higher ground where the gator couldn’t get them. He then called her mother and told her that she had been bitten.
Summer’s mom Shree said she jumped in her truck and raced to them. After putting her daughter in the truck bed, she drove to meet first responders who took her to the hospital.
Based on the size of the bite, officials believe the gator was at least 10-feet long.
