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90-Year Old Woman In Serious Condition After Gator Attack

COPELAND (CBS4) - A 90-year old southwest Florida woman remains hospitalized after she lost her leg in an alligator attack.

Florida wildlife officials said Margaret Webb was walking near her home in Copeland, a small community east of Ft. Myers, on Wednesday when an 8-foot alligator lunged out of a canal. The gator clamped onto Webb's leg and tried to drag her into the water.

Webb, however, was able to hang on long enough for a man driving by to stop and help her. That good Samaritan tried to shoot the alligator but it got away.

Wildlife officials at the time said the leg was "barely attached" after the attack and had to amputated.

Officials at Lee Memorial Hospital said her condition has been upgraded from critical to serious.

Roughly five people are bitten each year in Florida by unprovoked alligators.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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