Hillsborough Man Killed After Hitting 11-Foot Alligator In Road

LITHIA, FL — A 59-year-old man was killed Thursday after his vehicle struck an 11-foot alligator that was lying in the road.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, John Hopkins was driving east on County Road 672 at about 12:30 a.m. when he struck the alligator. His vehicle swerved off the road and overturned in a ditch.

A passing driver saw the vehicle in the ditch and called 911.

Deputies said that when they arrived, both Hopkins and the alligator were dead.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has issued a reminder that spring is alligator mating season and the reptiles. The FWC said there are about 1.3 million alligators located throughout Florida, and they are more active this time of year.

While serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, the FWC offers the following tips about how to safely co-exist with them:

• Keep a safe distance if you see an alligator, and never feed one. When fed, alligators can lose their natural wariness and instead learn to associate people with the availability of food.
• Swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn.
• Keep pets on a leash and away from the water’s edge and never let them swim in fresh or brackish water. Pets often resemble alligators’ natural prey.
• Call the FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286) if you believe an alligator poses a threat to people, pets or property, and the FWC will dispatch a contracted nuisance alligator trapper to resolve the situation. The FWC administers a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program to proactively address alligator threats in developed areas, while conserving alligators in areas where they naturally occur.