Car hits gator on I-75, flips multiple times

SARASOTA (FOX 13) - Jennifer Rosinski of Cooper City is lucky to be alive after her car had her run-in with a 9-foot alligator on Interstate 75 near North Port Tuesday night.

"The trooper told me I had gone airborne and landed and flipped six or seven times. It felt like forever," Rosinski told FOX 13 News.

Her car hit the gator as the massive reptile was trying to cross the highway. She says there was no time to react.

”It really surprised me. I didn’t know it was an alligator. It was moving so fast when it happened. I thought it was a fox or a deer,” she said.

The car ended up on its side and was left a mangled mess. Miraculously, she walked away with only some bruises and a cut near her eye.

The large alligator wasn't as lucky.

”Only in Florida are you going to have a gator crossing I-75,” Rosinski said.

Rosinski is an attorney and was on her way to Tampa for work. She’s currently back at home near Ft. Lauderdale recovering with her family, including her four young children.

”The whole time [my car is] rolling, I’m thinking, 'I hope I don’t die. I hope that I live through this.' And I was thinking about my kids. It was definitely intense,” she said.