A diver who jumped into an alligator-infested pond in a desperate attempt to find a missing family was covered by a crack squad of snipers who were ready to shoot the reptiles should they attack.
Nieves Matos, 80, was driving along a Florida road in the US with her adult son Mario Laza, 56, when she lost control of the blue Toyota minivan and veered into a pond at the side of the road.
The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) told local media an adult male and adult female were rescued from inside of the vehicle.
Spokesperson Lieutenant Alex Camacho said: “The vehicle lost control, overturned, driving off of the roadway into the pond.
“Dive teams from fire rescue and Miami-Dade Police did their search and rescue, and were able to rescue an adult female and adult male inside of the vehicle at the time.”
After the horror crash, brave members of the public jumped in the dicey and murky water to try and find the missing pair.
Florida cops and specialist divers followed them in once they arrived, WSVN reports.
The police department realised the pond was packed with vicious alligators so set up snipers to take the reptiles out should they strike.
In dramatic footage from the scene, snipers are seen laying in the prone position with their weapons aimed at the water.
Ms Matos was found, pulled from the pond, given emergency CPR, and survived the horror ordeal.
Her son was retrieved from the water and rushed to hospital where he tragically died.
A relative wrote on a GoFundMe set up to cover their funeral expenses that Mr Laza was "full of life, laughter and good times".
The tribute read: "Merme [sic] was a person that you would never forget just by meeting him once… he was someone full of life, laughter and good times to share, with a giant heart and a unique personality.
"Her [sic] mother Nieve remains hospitalized but stable."
Initial reports indicated that children had been involved in the horror crash due to the fact the FHP found a child seat in the back of the car.
They later confirmed no kids were involved in the collision.
Last week a woman was left shocked after spotting a nine-foot alligator swimming around with half its jaw missing.
The large reptile was spotted in the Florida Everglades gliding through the waters with the top of its jaw torn off.
Stacey Lynette spotted the predator swimming around happily in murky swampland where she snapped a picture of the alligator with a chunk of its jaw missing, the Star reports.
She took to Facebook to say: "I saw this gator far away and he looked weird to me.
"I grabbed my camera and sure as s**t, the whole end of his top jaw is missing.
