Autopsy Reveals Horror of Fatal Florida Alligator Attack

iSportsman Staff

The water was only about three feet deep.

Brittany Clark was cooling off with her boyfriend and a friend in Central Florida’s Econlockhatchee River when the surface erupted and a massive alligator grabbed her. One moment, the group was talking and enjoying a June afternoon. The next, Clark was fighting for her life against a reptile built to seize, twist and drag prey beneath the water.

A newly released autopsy report now reveals just how violent that fight became.

According to WESH 2 News, the 31-year-old Orlando woman suffered multiple blunt-force injuries to her upper extremities, including the near-complete traumatic amputation of her left arm at the shoulder and her right forearm. The medical examiner also documented alligator teeth marks on bones in her shoulder and arm, along with fractures, lacerations, abrasions and other injuries consistent with an alligator attack. Her death was ruled an accident.

The attack happened June 28 near the Barr Street Trailhead in Little Big Econ State Forest. Clark had been hiking with her boyfriend, Chance Allison, and a friend before the group entered the murky river.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said Clark did not appear to have provoked the animal. She was simply standing or swimming in shallow water when the alligator struck.

Allison fought desperately to pull her free as the animal reportedly twisted and repeatedly dragged her underwater. The group managed to get Clark to shore and called 911, but her injuries were catastrophic. She died while emergency responders were transporting her to a hospital.

Wildlife officers later removed two enormous alligators from the area, measuring approximately 12 and 13 feet long. Both were euthanized. DNA testing subsequently linked the 13-foot alligator to Clark’s attack.

It was a nightmare attack, but it was not the only recent alligator encounter in Central Florida. Clark’s death came during a week in which three people in the region were reportedly bitten or attacked.

That cluster naturally raises the question: Are Florida alligator attacks becoming common?

The answer is no, but “rare” is not the same as impossible.

American alligator. USFWS Photo

Gator Attacks in Florida

FOX 35 Orlando reported that Florida wildlife records dating to 1973 documented 32 deaths from unprovoked alligator bites through 2025. Clark’s death, the first fatal alligator attack recorded in Seminole County, was not yet included in the agency’s published annual data when FOX 35 reviewed it.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has studied hundreds of human-alligator encounters going back decades. Considering Florida’s population, the millions of visitors who arrive each year and the estimated 1.3 million alligators inhabiting the state, serious attacks remain statistical outliers.

Of course, statistics are cold comfort when you are standing waist-deep in brown water and something with 80 teeth decides you look edible.

Alligators inhabit freshwater lakes, ponds, swamps, canals and rivers in all 67 Florida counties. They are ambush predators, perfectly camouflaged and capable of approaching with little visible disturbance. Shallow water should not provide a false sense of security. Clark was attacked in water that reportedly reached only about waist level.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission advises people to swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours, never feed alligators and maintain a safe distance whenever one is spotted. Pets should be leashed and kept away from the water’s edge because their size and movements can resemble natural prey.

That means the neighborhood pond is not a dog park with a water feature. The canal behind the vacation rental is not a swimming hole. And that quiet stretch of tannin-stained river is not empty simply because you cannot see anything moving.

Alligator attacks may be rare, but the animals are not. They are part of Florida’s landscape, and anyone entering their habitat should behave accordingly.

The river can look peaceful. The water can be shallow. The odds can be overwhelmingly in your favor. But in Florida, whenever you enter the water, it is always worth remembering that you may not be alone.