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ROYAL PALM BEACH - A woman is recovering from being bitten by an alligator as she sat in the back of a pickup.
Patricia Compton, 65, said Wednesday she was sitting on an ice chest with her feet outstretched to avoid getting wet as the truck slowly moved through a 3-foot-deep water puddle in a remote trail in the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area.
Compton and seven family members had just driven through the puddle Saturday when the nearly 10-foot alligator lunged up and clamped down on Compton's ankle.
In one bite, the gator sliced through the top of Compton's right shoe, cut a 3-inch gash in her ankle and broke her fibula.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found the gator covered with scrapes, and it appeared to have a broken back. It was killed on the spot.