One Florida Teenager Took Action To Save Her Own Life Against A Gator

15‑year‑old Summer Hinote was wading in waist‑deep water with friends when a 10‑foot alligator ambushed her, clamping onto her leg and dragging her underwater.

The harrowing incident unfolded on June 22 in Pond Creek, Florida (Okaloosa County), about 25 miles from Destin.

According to Hinote, the alligator latched onto her thigh and pulled her beneath the surface, violently shaking her. By instinct, she began punching the gator in the head, which made it release her, but it grabbed again and dragged her underwater a second time.

With tremendous strength and resolve, she freed herself and, with her friends’ help, made her way to the bank.

“I just started punching it in the head as hard as I could. And he had let go and then grabbed me again,” Hinote said. “And the second time that he let go and grabbed me, he had drug me underneath the water. And he like shook my leg around.”

The young girl suffered severe leg injuries, though thankfully no amputation was required. Doctors and nurses assumed the alligator was at least 10 feet in size based on the size of the bite.

Gator Attacks In Florida

Florida is home to roughly 1.3 million alligators, found statewide in freshwater bodies. And of those, there is an estimated 6 to 8 unprovoked attacks per year, with 11 bites in 2024 and a record 23 in 2023.

According to scientists at the University of Florida, 96% of bites that have occurred thus far in 2025 are tied to risky human behavior including swimming or wading in gator zones, walking pets near water, tossing food into the water.

“The takeaway lesson from this study is that many bites can be prevented if humans are aware of their surroundings and minimize risky behaviors such as walking small pets near bodies of water or swimming where alligators are known to be present,” Frank Mazzotti, Ph.D., professor of wildlife ecology at UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center explained.

Just last month, a 64-year-old woman was kayaking when attacked by an 8‑foot female alligator that snapped her paddle, overturned her kayak, and bit her arm near the elbow.

Another kayaker intervened heroically, poking the gator in the eyes to secure her release. Salvador survived but required multiple reconstructive surgeries and therapy.