Why did the alligator cross the road?
No one knows for sure, buut the 12-foot gator's Sunday stroll across Interstate 275, just south of Gandy Boulevard, did not end well for the reptile after causing two crashes.
The gator was first struck around noon by a 2012 Toyota being driven north by 42-year-old Bruce Foley of Temple Terrace.
The gator escaped back into the woods on the east side of the interestate only to emerge again on the south side a half hour later.
That's when it was struck a second time by a 2004 Kia driven by 80-year-old Verna Christopher of St. Petersburg.
Christopherson’s son, Mark, was also riding in the vehicle and noticed something unusual in the road.
“It was dark at that time in the morning and I just seen a figure.”
It turned out to be the 12-foot gator in the middle of the interstate. The second impact did the gator in.
“It just happened so quick,” Mark Christopherson said. “I seen the alligator. It was too late to do anything. So I just told ma, just hit it! We went like 5-6 feet up in the air,” he said, “came down, almost tipped the car. It almost flipped over.”
Its remains were removed by a local trapper.
Neither driver was injured and no charges were filed. The Florida Highway Patrol estimated damages as $2,000 to the Toyota and $200 to the Kia.