ORANGE CITY, Fla. (WFLA) — Two motorcyclists in Florida are recovering after they hit an alligator that was sitting in the middle of a lane on Interstate 4 over the weekend.
NBC affiliate WESH spoke to Cameron Gilmore, who told them he was on I-4 in the Orange City area when he hit the gator.
"I saw it, like, 10 feet in front of me, and I just, you know, I thought -- I knew I was going to hit it," Gilmore said. "It kind of just happened so quick. I didn't even have a second to do anything. Couldn't put on the brakes or not. And I just had to hold on."
Once he hit the gator, he went flying.
"I flipped over the handlebars and landed on my head on I-4 and rolled," he said. "Somebody said two or three rolls on, you know, head-first, and then I start flying for a long way."
Gilmore told the news station that he was traveling to Sanford with a group of riders, and many of them ran toward him after the crash.
"My right leg was real numb and hurt," he added.
WESH reported that a 25-year-old woman from Orange City hit the gator after Gilmore.
Gilmore and the woman were both taken to HCA Lake Monroe Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Gilmore said that he is in good spirits and has every intention of getting back on his bike, despite a couple of broken bones and fractures.
"Nobody wants me to, but I, yeah, I will. I'm not scared," he said.
WESH reported that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was dispatched to assist with the injured alligator. The gator's condition is not known.
