Alligator Grabs Florida Man Fleeing Police

A Florida man ran from the police and into the jaws of an alligator.

When Bryan Zuniga, 20, was pulled over by police in the Tampa Bay area in the early hours of Thursday he ran from the car, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said. 

The Tampa Bay area man was found later at a hospital, where he was being treated for alligator bites. 

He told police that he was attacked by the reptile near a water treatment plant.

The alligator left multiple puncture wounds to Zuniga's face, arm and armpit.

Police had asked Zuniga, from Pinellas Park, to pull over for failing to maintain a single lane, at 2.50am. 

When his car stopped however, he jumped out of the passenger door, broke through a fence and disappeared. 

He has been charged with fleeing police, driving with a suspended or revoked license and resisting an officer without violence.

The once endangered alligator has been making a comeback in recent years and can be spotted in most stretches of Florida water.

The animals can grow up to 15ft in length and weigh up to 1,000lb.