Alligator performed 'death roll' killing Florida woman as details revealed in new report
A preliminary report into the death of a woman killed by an alligator reveals the creature performed a 'death roll' on her, before almost ripping off both of her arms.
Brittany Clark, 31, was paddling just three feet into the Econlockhatchee River on June 28, after hiking with her boyfriend and a friend, when the tragedy unfolded.
The Orange County Medical Examiner's Office has now released its preliminary report into the death of Clark, which noted that the deadly animal had grabbed her by the arm, and started to perform a 'death roll'.
The report read: "Chance Allison [Clark's boyfriend] grabbed the alligator trying to get it to release, when it took them both underwater releasing (Brittany) for a moment and then grabbing her other arm."
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The alligator performed the 'death roll', a movement in which the animal latches onto potential prey and violently spins in the water to subdue or dismember it, according to the National Institute of Health.
While alligator attacks are considered to be rare, they are not impossible.
Outdoor Life reports that last year, 13 alligator attacks were reported - two of which were fatal.
Clark's friend Jayden Hernandez, who was present at the time of the attack, noted that the three had 'joked' about an alligator being in the water, before the animal brutally killed the 31-year-old.
Writing in a Facebook post, she said: "There were air bubbles within our little triangle we made with our bodies in the water and I commented on how it might be a sneaky gator and Chance, Brittany’s boyfriend, swam right over it to show nothing was there, and nothing was there.
"Britt literally commented on how she thought he was gonna act like he got attacked and we just laughed because he would never do that because he’s an amazing person."
Following the horrifying tragedy, Clark's boyfriend has spoken about his girlfriend's final words before she was pronounced dead at a hospital local to the Little Big Econ State Forest.
Speaking with the New York Post, he said: "While we were waiting for emergency services to arrive Brittany just told me to make sure I took care of Hokie [her German Shepherd]. I can’t recall anything else."
He added, in an interview with FOX 35: "She was the strongest and most outgoing person I've ever met in my 30 years of life. She loved her job where she operated a bulldozer running a dirt crew.
"And loved going out on the water every chance she could."
Mia Williams