BRADENTON HERALD (Florida) 05 February 06 Wandering alligator hit by van on highway (Sylvia Lim)
Manatee: Former California resident Les Urbanski has heard stories of Florida alligators. But he did not expect to run into one Friday night on Interstate 75.
Making his way to Ellenton from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport at about 11:30 p.m. through a thunderstorm, Urbanski at first could not see the gator as he drove north on the highway.
Then he saw the creature. Urbanski, 44, estimated the gator was about 10 feet long, or almost the width of the right lane.
Going 55 mph, he had a split second to decide what to do.
With his wife and four children in the van and concerned about there being another vehicle behind him, Urbanski drove on.
"I didn't want to panic or brake, so I just ran him over," he said Saturday.
It was a costly decision, as the encounter left him with a flat tire, a torn radiator cover and a broken bumper - approximately $2,000 worth of damage.
Urbanski stopped and called 911. To give the dispatcher a more specific location, he drove to the next mile-marker sign near the U.S. 301 exit.
"Then I backed up slowly in the heavy rain," Urbanski said. "The alligator was somehow pulled off to the side of the road. It was almost as if he turned around and lay on the road."
Urbanski continued on to Ellenton, worried about the gator. He was also troubled about what he'd tell his insurance company.
The sheriff's office did receive a call about a gator on I-75, said Lt. William Vitaioli. The report was turned over to a licensed trapper.
The 8-foot gator wasn't dead, Vitaioli said. It was wandering on the highway.
Still shaken from the experience, Urbanski said he learned a lesson about living in Florida.
"Now, I am going to drive in the middle lane," he vowed. "I will not drive in the right lane."
Wandering alligator hit by van on highway