A California woman was attacked by a crocodile while vacationing in Mexico earlier this month — and was able to briefly fight off the beast before others intervened to save her, a report said.
Eighteen-year-old Kiana Hummel’s trip with a friend to Marriott resort in Puerto Vallarta took the nightmarish turn when the two decided to go for a nighttime ocean swim, she told KGO.
Before they had even reached the water, Hummel said the crocodile emerged from the dark and ripped the recent high-school graduate into the water by her right leg.
Hummel, of Marin County, bravely kept her composure and said she repeatedly punched the reptile until it released its grip.
But moments later, the crocodile struck again and dragged her back underwater by her right leg.
“I just remember saying, please don’t leave me,” Hummel recalled in an interview with the news station.
“And I didn’t think I was getting out that second time. That was just really bad.”
But a group of bystanders who witnessed the attack sprung to action and were able to free Hummel from the animal.
“It was most definitely one of the craziest, scariest things I’ve ever experienced,” Sarah Laney, one of the bystanders, told KGO.
“Honestly, I will never forget it when the crocodile’s head came above water. I just went into shock,” she said.
The teen suffered severe muscle and tissue damage to her legs. She is currently unable to walk.
Hummel called her mother after the attack and waited nearly 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, the report said.
Her mother, Ariana Martinez, told the outlet she immediately flew to Puerto Vallarta to be at her daughter’s side.
They later went back to California, and Hummel was hospitalized at Marin General, where is expected to undergo a second surgery.
Hummel, her mother and Laney believe the resort could do more to alert guests to the dangers of crocodile attacks.
Marriott spokesperson Kerstin Sachl told KGO the proper signage is in place.
“The safety and security of our guests and associates are our top priority, and we can confirm that appropriate signage, as well as night patrolling and red flags were and are properly in place,” said Sachl.
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