‘It was a freak accident’: Hunter describes moment gator bit arm at Seminole County lake

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    SEMINOLE COUNTY, FL (WESH) —
“It was a freak accident, just a freak accident,” Carsten Kiefer said.

A veteran of other alligator hunts, Kiefer shared a photo of an 11-foot gator he and his friends caught early last week. He never dreamed that while hunting in Lake Jesup last Thursday he’d end up in an alligator’s jaws.

“Every now and then you get gators that are crazy, and we happened to be in a very shallow part of the lake. He was able to get ground and launch himself out of the water and doing that I kind of lost balance, and he came flying up so he could get a hold of my arm,” Kiefer said. “It’s below the elbow, a partial amputation.”

That 911 call brought much needed help.

“Once I heard the crunching, and I saw the lower part of my arm pretty much get amputated. That scared me, that’s it, that’s the end of my life as I know it,” Kiefer said.

Kiefer, who is also a paramedic, says he was lucky he had another paramedic on board.

“My friend did everything by the book, tore his belt off made a tourniquet,” Kiefer said. “It was terrifying in the moment, luckily my buddy who was there did everything right that he could possibly do.”

Kiefer said he had six hours of surgery Thursday and a follow up procedure Monday.

“I’m very blessed and I’ve been working with some of the best reconstructive surgeons I can wish for,” Kiefer said. “I have movement in all my fingers, and I do have sensation as well.”

Fish and Wildlife hired a trapper to remove the 12 foot gator, so far it has not been captured.

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