Brittany Clark, 31, was mauled to death by an alligator in a river in Florida as her boyfriend desperately tried to save her
A woman was mauled to death by an alligator in a river in Florida as her boyfriend desperately tried to free her.
Brittany Clark, 31, from Orlando, was attacked in the Econlockhatchee River at Little Big Econ State Forest, about 25 miles north-east of Orlando, on Sunday. Officials previously said that the rare attack unfolded when the couple stopped to swim in around 3ft of water during their hike.
Brittany’s boyfriend was heard telling emergency services in harrowing 911 audio: “Both her arms are dislocated – off basically” and “One arm is completely off.”
A medical examiner’s report has since revealed that Brittany’s boyfriend heroically tried to fight the alligator of her as it dragged them both under water using a technique known as the ‘death roll’.
“While they were swimming an alligator grabbed [Clark] by her arm and began the “death roll”,” the report seen by the Daily Mail states. “Her boyfriend Chance grabbed the alligator trying to get it to release her when it took them both underwater.”
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson Chad Weber told reporters at a press conference on Monday that the couple were “hiking and they just stopped to swim”.
“It doesn’t seem they were doing anything malicious. They were in approximately 3ft of water,” he said.
“She was bitten on both of her arms. The boyfriend was the one that made the phone call. He was trying to get her from the alligator’s mouth, and on the way to the hospital she did pass away from her injuries.”
Weber said authorities removed and euthanised two alligators – 12ft and 13ft in length – from the river, and sent them off for DNA testing. “We offer our condolences to this young lady’s family,” he said, without disclosing the victim’s identity.
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