Florida fisherman slipped and fell after hearing 12-foot alligator creeping up on him: ‘It just snatched him’

An elderly Florida fisherman trying to flee a massive 12-foot alligator slipped and fell moments before the beast clamped onto his leg and dragged him into the water, a witness to the fatal attack revealed.

Steven Hamilton, 71, a seasoned angler and Orlando musician, was posing for a photo on Friday evening with a fresh bass along Lake Apopka at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park when he heard the monster gator creeping out of the water just feet away, the Daily Mail reported.

Hamilton turned to run but lost his footing on the shoreline — giving the predator the split second it needed to latch onto his left leg and yank him under, witness Jason Handley told the outlet.

“He heard the gator come out of the water and started to run away,” Handley, 37, said.

“He slipped and fell, and the gator grabbed him and dragged him into the water. It just snatched him in there,” he continued.

Handley said that several people attempted to save Hamilton by chucking traffic cones at the alligator — but kept their distance because the lake is “infested” with alligators, some of which are up to 15 feet in length.

Hamilton’s autopsy revealed he suffered “blunt force” leg injuries as he was dragged into the water, according to Orange-Osceola Medical examiners, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

It wasn’t until two hours after the attack, around 7 p.m., that his body was recovered from the lake, which is home to more than 4,600 alligators.

Handley told the Daily Mail that Hamilton is remembered as a “very happy guy.”

“He always had positive things to say,” he said. 

“He was always fishing there, and he would show me the fish he had caught.”

Handley himself had a close encounter with an alligator at the park a couple of days before Hamilton was attacked.

“It was right by my foot, but I bonked it on the head with a fishing net,” he said.

“I told my girlfriend, somebody is going to get ate by one of these gators.”