March 24, 2022- 9:21 p.m.
Driver dies after hitting 11-foot alligator in road, flipping vehicle, Florida cops say
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.”
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.
Police say the alligator also died.
