Man mocks alligators, jumps in water and is killed in Texas

CNN

A man who apparently mocked alligators, then jumped in the water -- despite warning signs -- is dead after being attacked in Texas.

Orange County Police were called to Burkart's Marina near the Louisiana state line early Friday morning after reports that Tommie Woodward, 28, and an unidentified woman were swimming in a bayou and had been attacked by a large alligator.

Woodward's body was found several hours later. The woman was not injured.


An alligator lurks in the bayou off Burkart's Marina

Orange County Justice of the Peace Rodney Price told CNN affiliate KFDM that Woodward ignored verbal warnings and a posted "No Swimming Alligators" sign and seemed to mock the deadly creatures before going in the water.

"He removed his shirt, removed his billfold ... someone shouted a warning and he said 'blank the alligators' and jumped in to the water and almost immediately yelled for help," Price said.

The "No Swimming Alligators" sign was posted this week after a 10-foot alligator was spotted in the bayou waters.

Witness heard 'An alligator's got him'
"Please do not go swimming, there's a bigger alligator out here. Just please stay out of the water," witness and marina employee Michelle Wright said she told Woodward.

She said the next thing she heard was the woman screaming, "An alligator's got him." Wright said she used a flashlight in the darkness to scan the water.

In an emotional interview with KFDM, Wright said, "I saw his body floating face down. And then he's out there for a couple of seconds and then he's dragged back down. And then he comes back up still face down and then he gets pulled down again. And then he just disappears."

Wright, who said she knew the victim and his family, said it was a moment she would never forget. She described the events that started out as a late night swim as "heartbreaking."

Woodward had recently moved to the area from St. Louis with his twin brother and was working at a nearby shipyard.

'If the sun is down, stay out of the water'
Alligators are predatory and territorial. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the creature "will eat anything it can catch," and should be treated with caution.

"If the sun is down, stay out the water. That's when they're eating. That's when they're hunting," alligator expert Arlie Hammonds told the affiliate.

Although there have been numerous fatal alligator attacks in Florida, the Orange County attack may be the first of its kind in Texas.

CNN's Dave Alsup, Jeremy Grisham and Carma Hassan contributed to this report

No offense to him and his family, but that was not smart!

I find this so tragic because it was so preventable. A momentary act of bravado is the cause of so much suffering. Never mind the horrible loss to his twin and his family. I bet alcohol was a factor.

Pheroze said:

I bet alcohol was a factor.

Click to expand...

I thought the same thing....

Some folks just have to learn the hard way........

Grew up in SW Louisiana. Gators aren't crocs, but they still demand respect. We never took our retrievers out during teal season anywhere near a canal or the open marsh. An alligator will nail a dog in seconds. As the population has increased, they have become ever more brazen. Just a matter of time until a child is picked while folks are crabbing from the bank in the Sabine WR.

Hold be beer and watch this

And my first grade teacher thought ... I was "slow".

... someone shouted a warning and he said 'blank the alligators' and jumped in to the water and almost immediately yelled for help," Price said.

Another idiot taken out the gene pool.

Sorry for the family, but this guy.........Alcohol if a factor really makes good people stupid.

I've heard about gators dining on dogs in South Texas, but never people. Hell, I've been water skiing with Croc's in Cancun and thankfully humans are not on their preferred dining list. Alberto resting:
I think there's more to this story, then what's in the story.

wesheltonj said:

I think there's more to this story, then what's in the story.

Click to expand...

I don't think so, other than potentially booze....

He jumped in the water and made a big splash at feeding time. The alligator then did what they have done for millions of years - fed opportunistically.

Like Redleg said earlier in the thread they aren't as aggressive as a Nile Croc from Africa, but they aren't vegetarians either.

That's in my neck of the woods, less than 5 mins from the plant I work at. The gators are agressive because people are feeding them, so the gators have no fear of people. Several have attacked at the peir, and follow boats as they fish. Every few years we hear of someone loses a hand while releasing fish.

I want to be the first to nominate this guy for a Darwin Award.

http://www.darwinawards.com

Kevin Davenport said:

That's in my neck of the woods, less than 5 mins from the plant I work at. The gators are agressive because people are feeding them, so the gators have no fear of people. Several have attacked at the peir, and follow boats as they fish. Every few years we hear of someone loses a hand while releasing fish.

Click to expand...

I was thinking that people had to be feeding them right there.
Why else would the Alligator assume it can grab anything that makes a splash?

Sad, but just another example of the old adage; "you can't fix stupid."
He really showed those gators how big his balls were . . . right before they ate them.

Big5 said:

Sad, but just another example of the old adage; "you can't fix stupid."
He really showed those gators how big his balls were . . . right before they ate them.

Click to expand...

Duct tape fixes everything !
Glen

stupid people die young and don't live to pollute the gene pool. Darwin was right

As a medical professor of mine once told me....."There's no cure for Dumb-Ass...."

Crazy stuff. Did you here about the other guy in Maine who set off fireworks on his head and died instantly.