Woman Puts Alligator in Her Back Seat
Posted on: Tuesday, 25 February 2003, 06:00 CST
Woman Puts Alligator in Her Back Seat
AP
Leslie Strickland said she had nothing but good intentions when she loaded a badly hurt 6-foot alligator into the back seat of her car and took it home to Port Charlotte.
The 49-year-old woman had hit the animal with her car Friday night and went back to rescue it Saturday - but wound up spending a night in jail, charged with possession of an alligator, a felony in Florida.
Police also charged her with driving with a suspended license and walking away from the scene of an accident, leaving the injured alligator in the back seat.
"I knew I was in trouble, and I panicked and I left," Strickland said by phone Monday. "I had a felony in the back seat, and I just didn't know what to do."
On Saturday, Strickland said she drove the gator home, wetted it down with hose and then tried unsuccessfully to reach somebody with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
After neighbors told her it was illegal to have the animal, she loaded it in the car again and drove off in search of a pond to release it.
But the alligator started to thrash its tail, she said. Distracted, she veered off the road and hit a mailbox. Witnesses told police she tried to drive off, but her car got stuck in the ditch. So she got out and walked away.
Police arrested Strickland at her home nearby, adding a charge of resisting arrest after she struggled with officers who tried to handcuff her. She said she "freaked out" at the prospect of going to jail.
The game commission finally removed the alligator from the car; it died later.
More science, space, and technology from RedNova
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Related Articles
- Car Seats Hazardous Outside Of Vehicles
- Video: Dorel Juvenile Group Introduces Ground-Breaking Car Seat Safety Technology
- Safe Kids Pennsylvania Launches New Mobile Car Seat Check-Up Van on May 20th
- Booster Car Seats Not Being Used Appropriately
- Wayne County Community College District Presents Second Annual Child Car Seat Check Program
- Graco Children's Products Announces a Safety Notice for the Frazier(TM) ComfortSport(TM) Car Seat
- Health Centre Making Car Seat for Conjoined Twins Born in Vancouver
- Baby Killed in Crash; Car-Seat Use Probed
- Obese kids can't fit into car seats, experts warn
- Study Faults Child Car Seat Instructions
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds