Girls Pulls Best Friend to Safety From Gator Attack

14-year-old girl pulls best friend to safety after gator attack

The Associated Press ORLANDO - After 14-year-old Edna Wilks was pulled underwater by an alligator, she surfaced with her arm still in the gator's mouth and began prying at its jaws with her other hand. By the time the reptile let her go, Edna's friends had all fled. Except one.

Best friend Amanda Valance pulled her to shore as the gator fol­lowed. "She saw his tail whipping around in the water, and she told me she thought to herself she couldn't let me die," Edna said Monday from her hospital bed.

If Amanda, also 14, hadn't been brave enough to stay, Edna is sure the alligator would have killed her. "We've been best friends for about 2 ½ years, and now she's more than my best friend: she's my savior," Edna said.

The girls and four friends were floating on boogie boards in Little Lake Conway on Saturday night when an alligator grabbed Edna's arm and began spinning. She heard a loud crack as the gator snapped her arm bones. "I was thinking, ‘This is how I'm going to die. I'm go­ing to drown in a minute.'"

Amanda stayed a couple of feet away throughout the attack. When Edna popped free, Amanda grabbed her, helped her onto a boogie board and pulled the board to shore as the gator trailed behind. Edna received blood transfu­sions and treatment for a broken arm. She also underwent surgery to clean the arm's muscles.