{"id":235752,"date":"2026-04-17T15:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/235752\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:40:11","slug":"florida-woman-survives-terrifying-easter-morning-crash-after-hitting-9-foot-alligator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/235752\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida woman survives terrifying Easter morning crash after hitting 9-foot alligator"},"content":{"rendered":"

SARASOTA, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A Florida woman is recovering after a terrifying rollover crash allegedly caused by a nearly 9-foot alligator in the road.<\/p>\n

25-year-old Maslin Kurtz told Tampa Bay 28<\/a> that her SUV flipped several times before slamming into a pole in a rural area of Sarasota County along Fruitville Road near Cowpen Lane before sunrise on Easter morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I hit something and blew a tire just because it ripped my car off of the road,\u201d Kurtz told Tampa Bay 28<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She later learned she had struck and killed a large alligator. Kurtz noted that the violent crash left her trapped inside her Toyota 4Runner.<\/p>\n

See also: Florida family targeted by AI scam during frantic search for missing dog Archer<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI just remember being stuck in my car, like I was crushed between the roof and the steering wheel,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m just kind of stuck there, not sure what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, a couple passing by stopped to help and called 911, eventually managing to pull Kurtz from the wreckage.<\/p>\n

“I was just praying that somebody would see me,\u201d Kurtz said.<\/p>\n

Kurtz was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital<\/a>, where she spent four days recovering, including two days in the intensive care unit. She suffered multiple severe injuries, including fractures to her spine, sternum and shoulder blade.<\/p>\n

Despite the ordeal, Kurtz said she feels fortunate to be alive. Her home is now filled with balloons and cards, including a small stuffed alligator gifted by the couple who rescued her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came to visit me a few days after I got out of the hospital, so I thought that was really sweet,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was very emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kurtz will need to wear a brace for four to six weeks and undergo physical therapy, but she is expected to make a full recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SARASOTA, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A Florida woman is recovering after a terrifying rollover crash allegedly caused by a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235753,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-235752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}