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Landscaper still walking after being attacked by alligator
Published Thursday July 14 2005
By JESSICA FLATHMANN
The Island Packet
With his back turned to the lagoon, Dean Beckelhimer didn't hear the nearly 12-foot alligator coming.
With no warning, Beckelhimer was knocked to the ground as the reptile clamped down on his legs and lower buttocks.
"I'm down on the ground," he said Wednesday of the attack around lunchtime Tuesday in Sea Pines. "I'm laying there, and I look and I can see his mouth. My whole body was underneath his mouth."
The alligator -- called Bruno by many Carolina Place residents -- grabbed the 60-year-old landscaper as he stood about five feet away from the lagoon spraying herbicide on holly bushes.
Beckelhimer, who weighs about 200 pounds, said the spray container of chemicals on his back exploded as he hit the ground.
"I remember thinking, 'Please God, help me,'" he said. "The next thing I remember is (the alligator) was sliding off of me."
Beckelhimer stumbled to the stairs of a nearby townhouse and climbed up to get off the ground. He stayed there -- with the alligator at the bottom of the stairs -- for about 20 minutes until two people on bicycles heard him screaming and called for help.
About that time, the alligator left its spot at the bottom of the stairs and returned to the lagoon.
"I'm very grateful for that couple," said Beckelhimer, who doesn't know their names.
Sea Pines security staff and a Hilton Head Island Fire and Rescue Division ambulance came to Beckelhimer's aid.
But after they looked at the scratches on his leg and checked his blood pressure, Beckelhimer went back to work.
It wasn't until he got off work later that afternoon and the shock of the incident had worn off that he realized he had puncture wounds in his buttocks. He went to the Cross Island Medical Center, where he was given a tetanus shot and treated with antibiotics.
Beckelhimer, owner of Kelly Green Lawnscapes, was walking slowly Wednesday. But he returned to the scene of the attack, watching his employees put straw in the beds around the lagoon.
"I'm a bit sore," he said, "but other than that, it's all right."
Despite efforts to catch it, the alligator remained in the lagoon Wednesday afternoon. Critter Management owner Joe Maffo was using pieces of chicken to lure the alligator out of the water.
"We got to see him to catch him," Maffo said.
He planned to return today to try again to capture the alligator.
Maffo said he was surprised the alligator let Beckelhimer go after grabbing him, because gators tend to attack something they can handle. He theorized that the sound of the herbicide tank exploding might have frightened the gator, causing it to let him go.
Beckelhimer said he was sure the alligator had been fed by people, because it was so brazen in the attack. He said he's always careful around lagoons, especially those with thick algae covering the surface, like the one at Carolina Place.
"I'd just like people to know the nature of gators," Beckelhimer said, adding they are wild animals that can be dangerous if ever fed.
"I'm the luckiest person walking because I shouldn't be walking," he said Wednesday as he stood near the site of the attack. "I should be in the lagoon, dead."
Original Story
Published Thursday July 14 2005
By JESSICA FLATHMANN
The Island Packet
With his back turned to the lagoon, Dean Beckelhimer didn't hear the nearly 12-foot alligator coming.
With no warning, Beckelhimer was knocked to the ground as the reptile clamped down on his legs and lower buttocks.
"I'm down on the ground," he said Wednesday of the attack around lunchtime Tuesday in Sea Pines. "I'm laying there, and I look and I can see his mouth. My whole body was underneath his mouth."
The alligator -- called Bruno by many Carolina Place residents -- grabbed the 60-year-old landscaper as he stood about five feet away from the lagoon spraying herbicide on holly bushes.
Beckelhimer, who weighs about 200 pounds, said the spray container of chemicals on his back exploded as he hit the ground.
"I remember thinking, 'Please God, help me,'" he said. "The next thing I remember is (the alligator) was sliding off of me."
Beckelhimer stumbled to the stairs of a nearby townhouse and climbed up to get off the ground. He stayed there -- with the alligator at the bottom of the stairs -- for about 20 minutes until two people on bicycles heard him screaming and called for help.
About that time, the alligator left its spot at the bottom of the stairs and returned to the lagoon.
"I'm very grateful for that couple," said Beckelhimer, who doesn't know their names.
Sea Pines security staff and a Hilton Head Island Fire and Rescue Division ambulance came to Beckelhimer's aid.
But after they looked at the scratches on his leg and checked his blood pressure, Beckelhimer went back to work.
It wasn't until he got off work later that afternoon and the shock of the incident had worn off that he realized he had puncture wounds in his buttocks. He went to the Cross Island Medical Center, where he was given a tetanus shot and treated with antibiotics.
Beckelhimer, owner of Kelly Green Lawnscapes, was walking slowly Wednesday. But he returned to the scene of the attack, watching his employees put straw in the beds around the lagoon.
"I'm a bit sore," he said, "but other than that, it's all right."
Despite efforts to catch it, the alligator remained in the lagoon Wednesday afternoon. Critter Management owner Joe Maffo was using pieces of chicken to lure the alligator out of the water.
"We got to see him to catch him," Maffo said.
He planned to return today to try again to capture the alligator.
Maffo said he was surprised the alligator let Beckelhimer go after grabbing him, because gators tend to attack something they can handle. He theorized that the sound of the herbicide tank exploding might have frightened the gator, causing it to let him go.
Beckelhimer said he was sure the alligator had been fed by people, because it was so brazen in the attack. He said he's always careful around lagoons, especially those with thick algae covering the surface, like the one at Carolina Place.
"I'd just like people to know the nature of gators," Beckelhimer said, adding they are wild animals that can be dangerous if ever fed.
"I'm the luckiest person walking because I shouldn't be walking," he said Wednesday as he stood near the site of the attack. "I should be in the lagoon, dead."
Original Story