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You’re just asking for trouble if you try to run from the police after being pulled over. However, one man in Louisiana got much more than he bargained for after trying to flee from the cops, as he landed in the hospital after being attacked by an alligator before being transported to jail.
Most people probably associate alligators with Florida more than any other state, but Louisiana actually leads the way when it comes to places in America that boast the highest population of those massive reptiles; the former is home to an estimated 1.3 million, while the latter comes out on top with approximately two million.
The Sunshine State does take the cake when it comes to the highest number of unprovoked attacks involving gators (as well as deaths credited to the cold-blooded creatures), but they tend to be fairly few and far between due to the nature of the animals that typically don’t go out of their way to bother humans.
With that said, you do want to keep your head on a swivel if you enter their territory, which is what one man in Louisiana recently did during a police chase before drawing the ire of one he encountered while trying to get away.
A man suffered injuries to both of his arms after being bitten by an alligator while running from the police in Louisiana
According to NBC News, the Louisiana State Police were told to keep an eye out for a Toyota Supra with a blown tire on Sunday in response to a reckless driving report concerning a car that kept chugging along after striking a barrier on Interstate 10 near New Orleans.
They eventually tracked down the vehicle in question in St. Charles Parish before pulling over its driver, identified as 40-year-old Victor Rivas, on I-310. Officers suspected he was intoxicated and were preparing to conduct a field sobriety test when Rivas decided to flee the scene, and he kicked off a pursuit after leaping into the swamp below the elevated roadway.
They were able to track him down near Route 61 before Rivas fled into another swamp, where he was attacked by an alligator while swimming away (the moment in question was captured on an officer’s bodycam, but it’s difficult to make out the animal).
Rivas suffered injuries to both of his arms, but he didn’t let that stop him from continuing to try to get away. However, he was tracked down with the help of a drone the police deployed, and he was treated for his wounds before being booked on charges of driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest (he was already wanted on suspicion of a hit-and-run in Jefferson Parish).
This story has serious Florida Man Energy, and if you’re curious, a similar incident unfolded there in 2015 when a man drowned after being bitten by a gator while trying to hide from police in a lake.