Giant alligator invades car dealership

April 29th, 2009, 4:10 pm · 2 Comments · posted by Matt Degen

Really, you can’t make this stuff up.

A woman checking out cars at a Florida Toyota dealership got a lot more than a test-drive Tuesday when she was met by an 8-foot, 7-inch alligator next to a car she was interested in.

Denise Anderson, 33,came upon the giant reptile at Sun Toyota in New Port Richey.

The beast was next to a Sequoia she was planning to test-drive, according to a report by the St. Petersburg Times.

The paper reports:

“I saw its eyes. Mouth. Its jaws. Its teeth,” Anderson said.

“She was freaking out, jumping, like a football high step,” said Michael Chaparro, a salesman. He couldn’t understand what she was saying, so he walked to where she pointed, between the cars and then back toward the rear. The gator had slipped under a Toyota Highlander by that time.

He crouched down to get a look. And then he freaked out.

“It was hissing,” he said.

Deputies arrived arrived after Chaparro called 911, and the local Sheriff’s office cordoned off the area. A trapper eventually wrangled the beast as onlookers vied to watch the drama unfold.

The reptile, which is thought to have come from a canal in back of the dealership, will likely be disposed, as is the case with such gators 4 feet or longer.

As for Anderson, the reportedly put though paperwork to buy a vehicle, just not the Sequoia.