Driver dies after hitting 11-foot alligator in road, flipping vehicle, Florida cops say

A Florida driver was killed in the middle of the night after crashing into an 11-foot alligator west of Alafia River State Park.

The driver was identified as 59-year-old John Hopkins of Lithia, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, March 24, on County Road 672, south of Lithia. The community is about 25 miles southeast of Tampa.

“The front of the victim’s vehicle struck an approximately 11-foot long alligator that was in the roadway,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

“The vehicle veered off the roadway to the left and overturned into a ditch on the north side of the road. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene.”

Investigators say the alligator also died.

Alafia River State Park is 6,312 acres and its waters are known to host alligators. However, investigators did not speculate on where the reptile came from or where it was going. The crash occurred about 2 miles west of the park.

Florida is home to an estimated at 1.3 million alligators, and they can be found in all 67 counties, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The record length for a male in Florida is 14 feet, 3 1/2 inches, found in Brevard County, and the record weight is 1,043 pounds, found in Alachua County, the state says.

This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 7:18 AM with the headline "Driver dies after hitting 11-foot alligator in road, flipping vehicle, Florida cops say."