The incident began Sunday when Louisiana State Police responded to reports of a Toyota being driven recklessly on Interstate 10 in Jefferson Parish. According to a statement posted on Facebook by state police, the vehicle struck a concrete barrier and suffered a tire blowout before officers stopped it on I-310 in neighboring St. Charles Parish.

The driver, identified in local media reports as Victor Rivas, fled on foot from an elevated section of the interstate into a swamp below, authorities said.

“Troopers and deputies with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office began searching for Rivas, who was later spotted walking along U.S. Highway 61,” the state police statement said. “When law enforcement approached, he fled again into a swampy area, where he was attacked by an alligator and sustained injuries to both arms. Despite his injuries, Rivas continued fleeing before being located and apprehended with the assistance of drone technology.”

Louisiana State Police public information officer Kyle Wagner told local CBS affiliate WWL Louisiana: “Even after the strike, Rivas continued to evade law enforcement and fled again. We had to wait for him to pop out the woodline to make that apprehension.”

Deputy body-worn camera footage showing the alligator swimming at speed toward Rivas and thrashing with him in the water was posted on YouTube by WWL Louisiana.

Rivas was released after treatment at a local hospital. Warrants were obtained for hit-and-run and careless operation of a vehicle in connection with the earlier crash in Jefferson Parish, state police said.

The state police statement concluded with praise for law enforcement partners for their support in bringing Rivas’s arrest “to a successful resolution,” but made no mention of the alligator’s role.

A separate statement from the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office contained an AI-generated photo of an alligator in a police uniform being presented with a “deputy of the year plaque” bearing the name “Al E Gator,” according to a report by The Guardian, which first published details of the incident.