Neighbors rescue woman attacked by alligator on Hilton Head Island

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WTOC) - Neighbors rescued a woman from an alligator on Hilton Head Island, according to law enforcement officials.

A woman was walking her dog after 8 a.m. Thursday at Hilton Head Plantation and got attacked by an approximately 8-foot alligator.

A female neighbor saw the commotion and attempted to help pull the woman out of the water but realized something was holding on to her. That is when the neighbor realized it was an alligator, according to a spokesman from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR).

The neighbor’s husband picked up a shovel, ran into the water and repeatedly hit the alligator until it let go. SCDNR says the neighbors saved this woman’s life.

The woman was transported to a hospital in Savannah, Ga. with serious leg injuries. The dog is fine, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).

SCDNR said the alligator was euthanized and a necropsy was performed to see if the alligator had been being fed by people. The necropsy showed no evidence of it being fed, but SCDNR says that does not mean it had not been fed by people in the past.