BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD)-- A South Carolina male is recovering after he says he was attacked by an alligator while collecting fossils in the Cooper River earlier today.
William Georgitis, of West Ashley, was diving for fossils Monday afternoon when he was attacked and dragged to the bottom of the waterway, where he says he lacked air.
" When I appeared, he was about 20 feet away from me and as quickly as he saw me, he released himself out of the water. I indicate he was coming at me, nearly hydroplaning on the top. He was so identified to get there," Georgitis said.
A huge alligator was about to get him.
" Put my arm up defensively and he grabbed hold of it. I indicate, he was big. Due to the fact that I was just right there, I do not even understand how big he was. He felt huge," he recalled. "I understood his very first move once he grabbed me was to roll me. So, I bear-hugged him. I wrapped my arm around his head and my legs around his neck."
Georgitis was then pulled undersea with little air left in his scuba tank.
" I got my screwdriver that I use on the bottom of the river, and I stabbed him in the eye, and when I did that, he shook me like a ragdoll. Threw me off of him- I got ahold of him due to the fact that I didn't desire him to roll once again," he stated.
His arm was still in the gator's clamped-down jaw.
" At that point, he took me to the bottom, and I could tell because my ears started popping and it got genuine black, and I hit the bottom with my shoulders and my neck and I might feel his weight pushing down on me," he said.
Georgitis continued to remember his experience, "I could not get up to his eye once again, so I went for his gum line and tried to stab him between the teeth where the soft spots were, which seemed to work. He shook me again, quite hard down there, and at that point, I lacked air."
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He was now an approximated 50 feet underwater, battling an alligator without air.
" And so I understood that was completion of my life at that moment," he stated.
It wasn't.
And I got out. I don't know how," he said. "I simply believed that I tore it off and when I got back to the surface, it was tumbling down hanging like a damp noodle.
Pictures acquired by The Post and Courier paper show Georgitis still in his wetsuit sitting in the boat, the white bottom turned red with blood in places, as well as a medical facility photo of numerous gashes to his ideal arm.
Georgitis now has some advice for other divers.
"This gator is very aggressive and he's right there where everyone else dives. Whoever else is out there diving please be cautious," he stated.
Georgitis said they rapidly made it to the Bushy Park Boat Landing before rushing to the healthcare facility. His arm is going to make it-- but he may need some extra surgical treatments in the future.
He said he does not have insurance coverage and is working to begin a GoFundMe to aid with medical expenses. But at this moment, he is happy to be alive.
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