Large gators keep rescuers away from driver in submerged truck, Florida cops say

Large alligators kept rescuer divers from reaching a pickup truck that plunged off a bridge and vanished in a canal, according to police in southwest Florida.

The single-vehicle crash happened just before 7 a.m. Sunday, June 22, in the murky Cow Pen Slough Canal in Venice, the Venice Police Department reported in a news release.

A cause of death for the driver, Fredy Chavez Sanchez, 19, has not been released, but rescue swimmers initially were not able to reach him due to menacing alligators, officials said.

The divers stayed clear of the truck until after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sent trappers to catch the alligators, police said. Trappers measured the alligators at 7 feet, 9 inches, and 7 feet, 7 inches, FWC officials said.

“Evidence indicates a red Ford Ranger was traveling westbound on Rustic Road at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway, striking (a Florida Power & Light Company) pole, and coming to rest inverted in the canal,” police said.

“After FWC removed two large alligators from the area, Venice divers assisted by Sarasota County (FL) Sheriff’s Office Special Ops conducted an assessment of the vehicle, confirming one entrapped deceased male.”

A fundraising campaign for Chavez said he died at the scene. Chavez was from Guatemala and recently graduated from high school with plans to attend college, a relative reported.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.

Venice is about a 70-mile drive south from Tampa.

This story was originally published June 23, 2025 at 4:50 AM with the headline "Large gators keep rescuers away from driver in submerged truck, Florida cops say."