ORLANDO (CBSMiami) – A San Diego father is speaking out about the recent alligator attack in Florida that left a 2-year-old dead, saying his son suffered a nearly similar fate at Disney World last year.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said searchers recovered the body of a 2-year-old Lane Graves who was snatched by an alligator at Walt Disney World.
The boy was attacked Tuesday night as he waded in the water at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney’s Grand Floridian resort.
San Diego attorney David Hiden says his little boy was approached by an alligator at the Coronado Springs Resort while he and his family were vacationing at a nearby Walt Disney World Resort property in the Orlando Area.
“He was playing, and looking for bugs and stuff. Then, all of a sudden, I looked past his head and I see this alligator, maybe 6 or 7 feet, bee-lining it straight for him.”
There was also the story of the boy who got grabbed by an alligator at Disney in 1986, and was only saved through the quick actions of his sister and brother.
He was feeding ducks by the water, when the gator launched out of the water and grabbed his leg. His screams brought his siblings.
Carolyn, then 12, and Joseph Jr., then 10, both rushed to help.
“My sister grabbed me under my arms and pulled against the alligator in a tug of war. My brother was scrambling around picking up rocks and sticks to hit it with,” he said. “I remember just looking at it and seeing its face thinking, ‘I’ve got to start kicking.’ So with my free leg, I dug my heel into it and did anything I could,” he recalled […]
“My leg was down its throat. My other leg that was available, I could probably touch the water with my toes,” he said.
It was shown that Disney knew at the time he was attacked about the problem with alligators there.
