Brittany Clark was 31 years old and lived in Orlando when she decided to cool off in the Econlockhatchee River on a hot day in June.
She was with her boyfriend, Chance Allison, and her best friend. The water barely reached their knees, so no one suspected danger. According to her friend’s account, minutes before the attack they noticed strange bubbles rising to the surface, something they regarded as a curiosity rather than a warning. Seconds later, an alligator grabbed Brittany and performed the so-called ‘death roll,’ the maneuver these reptiles use to immobilize their prey underwater.
Chance tried to pull her away, but the wounds on her arms were too severe. Days later, agents from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission captured and euthanized two alligators in the area; genetic tests confirmed which one caused the attack, the third recorded in the state in a single week.
