She walks her dog and is killed by an alligator: her family files a complaint for “wrongful death”

L'alligator d'environ trois mètres responsable de l'attaque a été euthanasié. Illustration Unsplash – Joshua J. Cotten

The family of an 80-year-old who was killed by an alligator while walking her dog in her Florida backyard has filed a 'wrongful death' lawsuit. against the real estate company that owns the subdivision where the attack took place.

The facts date back to February 20. That day, 85-year-old Gloria Serge was walking her dog by a pond in her backyard in southeast Florida when she was attacked by a large alligator. 39;about 3 meters. The latter first tried to catch the octogenarian's pet before attacking her. The reptile grabbed its foot and pulled it to the bottom of the pond. Gloria Serge died as a result of the attack. His dog survived, reporting CNN.

If the alligator was immediately euthanized, the family of the deceased filed a lawsuit against the managers of Spanish Lakes Fairways, a real estate company owning and operating the subdivision where the attack took place.

The victim "encouraged" walking your dog near the pond

The octogenarian had started walking his dog in his garden after receiving a letter from the property manager telling him that She was limited to walking her pet on the property or in an area reserved for dogs but located more than 1.5 km from her house, according to a press release from the lawyers of the plaintiffs that CNN obtained.

In the complaint filed, they explain that the company would have "encouraged" the deceased to walk his dog near a pond where there were "large dangerous alligators constituting a nuisance according to the definition developed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission&quot ;.

And even if the residents of the subdivision had permission to feed the reptile named Henry to accustom him to human contact, the plaintiffs invoke "l' legal and non-delegated duty of property owners in Florida to identify unsafe conditions on the property , warn those nearby of the danger and take immediate action to eliminate the threat".

First time resident killed by alligator

The president of Wynne Building Corporation which developed the Spanish Lakes Fairways, Joel Wynne, responded by saying: "We certainly understand the tragedy and the feelings of Ms. Serge's family. However, we developed Spanish Lakes Fairways 37 years ago. We have around 3,000 residents. This is the first time ever that a resident has been attacked by an alligator."

Adding: "Ms. Serge was a long-time resident and certainly knew of the presence of alligators and that&#39 ;these were inherently dangerous animals, Wynne's president said.

Although Florida has an estimated more than 1.25 million alligators, their attacks are relatively rare. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission counted 26 fatal attacks out of 442 between 1948 and 2021.