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Alligator attack on Florida mom sparks panicked 911 call: 'Her arm is gone'

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Cite

Margolis, A. (2026, November 8). Alligator attack on Florida mom sparks panicked 911 call: 'Her arm is gone'. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/travel/alligator-attack-florida-mom-sparks-panicked-911-call-arm-gone

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-11-08 · by Andrea Margolis

Quick Summary

The article reports on a September incident where Dina Spann, 58, was severely injured by an alligator while swimming in Florida’s Silver River near Ray Wayside Park. Audio from 911 calls reveals that Spann lost her right arm below the elbow and part of a finger. Eyewitnesses described the attack as sudden and violent, with one witness rushing to help in his boat after seeing an alligator's head above water pursuing swimmers. The article emphasizes the quick action required in such situations and mentions other recent alligator attacks in Florida this year.
Written by AI on 2026-11-08, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On 2026-11-08, a 911 call revealed the severe injuries sustained by Dina Spann, 58, after an alligator attack while she was swimming in Florida's Silver River near Ray Wayside Park in Marion County. According to witnesses and audio recordings of emergency calls, Spann lost her right arm below the elbow and part of a finger on her left hand during the incident. Her son, Zach Guerrina, stated that his mother had been trying to hold the alligator's jaws open to escape but suffered significant injuries despite her efforts. The attack occurred in August when Spann was swimming with a group; eyewitness John Gamache told FOX 35 Orlando he saw an alligator moving quickly toward swimmers, prompting him to rush to their aid.

Written for “Alligator Attack In Florida” on 2026-11-09, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

Alligator Attack In Florida
Other · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
3 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Other
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-08 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6953 article(s) · 14 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 14 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Andrea Margolis
63 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
At the time, Spann's son, Zach Guerrina, told the Post his mother was trying to hold the alligator's jaws open so she could escape.
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Also by Andrea Margolis
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 63 articles by Andrea Margolis →

Topics

FOX 35 Florida Marion County Post The New York Post

Subjects

Florida GPE · 5× Spann PERSON · 5× Gamache PERSON · 4× FOX 35 ORG · 2× Post ORG · 2× Dina Spann PERSON · 1× Fox News Digital ORG · 1× Marion County GPE · 1× The New York Post ORG · 1× Zach Guerrina PERSON · 1×

Narrative

A park visitor named John Gamache told FOX 35 Orlando he saw an alligator's "head way above the water and going full speed" toward the swimmers. "Obviously, the minutes mattered." Gamache then rushed toward the swimmers in his boat. "It was a terrible injury, bones poking out, blood everywhere," Gamache said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-08
At the time, Spann's son, Zach Guerrina, told the Post his mother was trying to hold the alligator's jaws open so she could escape.

Claims (21 extracted, 3 hedged)

Newly released 911 calls capture the frantic aftermath of an alligator attack that left a Florida woman with severe injuries, according to reports. uncertain
that → release → reports
The attack occurred as Dina Spann, 58, was swimming with a group in Florida's Silver River near Ray Wayside Park in Marion County over the summer. asserted
Spann → occur → summer
Spann survived the attack but lost her right arm below the elbow and part of a finger on her left hand. asserted
Spann → survive → hand
Audio of two 911 calls obtained by The New York Post captured the frantic moments after the attack, including witnesses describing Spann's severe injuries. asserted
Audio → obtain → injuries
"Somebody got bit by an alligator, I think her arm got bit — it’s dangling off," one woman said in the call, the Post said. asserted
Post → bite → call
"She lost half an arm." asserted
She → lose → arm
In another 911 call, a woman can be heard screaming and crying as a man tells the dispatcher they are on the Silver River. asserted
they → hear → River
"Her arm is gone," the second 911 caller said. asserted
caller → go → ?
Fox News Digital reported on the August incident earlier this year. asserted
Digital → report → incident
At the time, Spann's son, Zach Guerrina, told the Post his mother was trying to hold the alligator's jaws open so she could escape. uncertain
she → tell → jaws
"It had her, but she said she was trying to make sure it didn’t get to her legs," he said. asserted
he → have → legs
Other eyewitnesses shared their accounts of the incident. asserted
eyewitnesses → share → incident
A park visitor named John Gamache told FOX 35 Orlando he saw an alligator's "head way above the water and going full speed" toward the swimmers. "Obviously, the minutes mattered." Gamache then rushed toward the swimmers in his boat. "It was a terrible injury, bones poking out, blood everywhere," Gamache said. asserted
Gamache → name → boat
"Obviously, the minutes mattered." asserted
minutes → matter → ?
Spann was transported to a hospital after the attack, and FOX 35 reported earlier this summer that she was in good spirits when she returned home. asserted
she → transport → spirits
Spann's family also called Gamache to thank him, as FOX 35 noted. asserted
FOX → call → him
"They called earlier, and we talked for a while, and it was heartwarming to hear them explain their emotions," Gamache said. asserted
Gamache → call → emotions
Other alligator attacks have occurred in Florida this year. asserted
attacks → occur → Florida
Earlier this year, a child was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after being bitten on the arm and leg by an alligator while swimming in an off-limits Florida nature preserve. asserted
child → hospitalize → preserve
In October, a 71-year-old man was killed by a nearly 12-foot alligator while fishing along the shore of Lake Apopka in Florida, marking the state's second fatal alligator attack of the year, according to police. uncertain
man → kill → police
Fox News Digital's Kelly McGreal and Jessica Mekles contributed reporting. asserted
McGreal → contribute → reporting
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