Naples man runs over 11-foot alligator after finding it dragging his elderly neighbor into the water. 

A Florida man is being praised as a hero after driving over an alligator that was dragging a neighbor into a pond in Collier County.

While Walter Rudder was operating his truck, an alligator was attacking Rick Fingeret, a neighbor and friend.

“We were driving and noticed a man down on the ground waving his arms. We pulled aside, and when I got out, I noticed that an alligator had him by the leg,” Rudder explained. “It was dragging him into the pond.”

Rudder claims that his 67-year-old friend urged him to run over the alligator in the hopes that it would release his leg. The plan became successful.

After releasing the man, the alligator returned to the pond.

The Naples Daily News received a recording of the 911 call. On the recording, Fingeret says there are “two big bites” in his thigh. A woman at the scene wrapped a shirt around his thigh before turning on her hazard lights to wait for emergency personnel to come. It took them approximately six minutes to reach Fingeret.

Fingeret was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers for treatment after being injured. He stated that he was walking his two Labrador dogs when he was attacked, and that they never left his side during the incident.

After capturing the alligator, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission instructed trappers to move it. It was 11 feet long, according to their measurements, according to a recent article by Carlos Garcia of Blaze Media.

Fingeret subsequently told WINK-TV that he struck the alligator on the head multiple times, but the animal just bit down harder.

“Alarming,” Rudder replied simply.

The commission used the incident to educate Florida residents that alligator mating season runs from May to June, and assaults are more common during that time. They advised locals to avoid bodies of water, put pets on leashes, and never approach alligators.

Every year, around seven unprovoked alligator attacks on people occur in Florida. Only a few attacks are fatal, and the majority of victims are men.

This article originally appeared on Blaze Media