Traffic brought to a standstill when 8-foot alligator became stuck under stopped car

At about 7pm on Sunday, Alana Goodwin of Cape Coral, Florida, found herself in an uncomfortable position. The alligator under her car was in an even more uncomfortable position. Goodwin was driving on US 41 in Fort Myers when she saw the alligator walk out in front of her.

Goodwin said she noticed the alligator ambling toward traffic. Trying to protect it from oncoming cars, she inched her car forward to form a barrier between the gator and the roadway. That's when the gator decided to get under her car and became wedged tightly underneath it. Goodwin said, "As I started to pull out onto the main road, he started to walk in the traffic lane so I moved up a little further.
"People kept passing by so I just stayed there until help could arrive." Lee County Domestic Animal Services arrived shortly thereafter. Two trappers were able to get the still frisky gator out from under Goodwin's car. After wrestling him to a ditch along the side of the road, workers were able to tape the alligator's mouth shut. Then they began the slow process of pulling the uncooperative alligator back to their truck.

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After a quick measurement of 8 feet, 1 inch, the alligator's tail was notched as part of routine procedure and it was lifted into officials' vehicle. Goodwin wasn't the least bit fazed by her brush with the reptile. "It wasn't scary. I'm a Florida native. I worked for the Sheriff's Office for 20 years so I know this is a regular happenstance. We've had plenty of people with gators under their cars. I knew the officer's would respond and everyone would be fine."