Panicked 911 calls have revealed the terrifying moments a woman was viciously attacked by an alligator as her friends and family scrambled for help.
Dina Rae Spann, 58, survived a brutal alligator attack in August while she was kayaking with a group on Silver River in Ocala, Florida, south of Gainesville.
She was floating in the water when the gator attacked, ripping off her right arm and eating one of her fingers as onlookers attempted to hoist her onto a passing boat.
A female witness called emergency services for help, telling a 911 operator that Spann's arm was bitten and 'dangling off,' according to audio footage of the two calls obtained by the New York Post.
It is unclear who called 911, but the woman appeared to be on the same kayak tour as Spann and was unrelated to her.
The 911 operator first struggled to hear the witness. The woman then tells the operator that kayakers were getting Spann onto a boat and that she had 'lost half an arm.'
The woman screamed at nearby boaters to ask where they were taking Spann so emergency services could get an address. Screams were heard in the background as someone said: 'Her arm is gone.'
Spann's son Zachary told the Daily Mail after the attack that she lost her right arm and one finger on her left hand.
Dina Spann was attacked by an alligator in August and lost her arm. A harrowing 911 call revealed the panicked moments of nearby boaters and kayakers during the attack. Picture source: Facebook: Dina Rae
Spann was swimming with her family in Silver River in Ocala, Florida, when the predator attacked. Picture source: Facebook: Dina Rae
Spann's son previously told the Daily Mail that despite her injuries, she was in a positive mood. 'She's strong. She's good. She's making jokes; she's just herself,' he said. Picture source: Facebook: Dina Rae
'But she's strong. She's good. She's making jokes; she's just herself,' he added.
Zachary speculated that tourists had fed the alligator, which is why the animal came so close to his mother.
Read More
EXCLUSIVE Alligator attack victim identified as mom, 58, as her terrible mistake is revealed
'I grew up camping the Oklawaha with my mom and my dad since I was a kid. We spend almost every other weekend on the water. Alligators are normally timid and scared of humans,' he explained.
John Gamache, a nearby boater who stopped to rescue Spann, recalled the harrowing moments he kicked into gear when he saw the gator approach.
'I looked just upriver from us a couple hundred feet and saw an alligator head way above the water and going full speed towards the swimmers,' Gamache told Fox 35.
'It was a terrible injury, bones poking out, blood everywhere. Obviously, the minutes mattered.'
Spann's right arm was amputated, and she lost a finger on her left arm. She shared a video on Facebook in September about her recovery process. Picture source: Facebook: Dina Rae
Spann said: 'The gator got a piece of me. It didn't get the best of me.' Picture source: Facebook: Dina Rae
The boaters pulled the remaining swimmers aboard and raced to shore, where first responders met them and rushed Spann to the hospital.
Gamache said Spann and her family were grateful for his bravery and later called to thank him.
An alligator trapper was called to the scene to track down the reptile, which officials said they located later that day.
Since her harrowing attack, Spann has embarked on a long recovery process. She shared a video in September at a doctor's appointment and revealed how her amputated arm was healing.
'Recovery isn't always pretty, but I'm learning to laugh through the hard parts and celebrate every little victory,' she said.
'The gator got a piece of me. It didn't get the best of me.'
Source link
