See You Later, Alligator! At Sun Toyota’s...

Going for a test drive? Go with a trapper! That is how Denise Anderson will probably think from now on, since she had an encounter with an alligator in a car lot.

It all happened on Tuesday morning, April 28, when Anderson went to Sun Toyota to test drive an used Sequoia model. The car lot is at U.S. 19 and State Road 54, one of the most busiest intersections in west Pasco County.

Waiting for the salesman to arrive, she saw an alligator right next to the Sequoia. (It was probably there to warn her about the bad choice she was about to make.) As a normal reaction, she screamed, leading to 24-year old salesman Michael Chaparro hurrying up to see what happened.

By the time he arrived to "the scene of the accident", the gator was already playing hide-and-seek under a Toyota Highlander. And, as any game is more fun when played by more participants, Chaparro called 911. The police came to secure the area, accompanied by a licensed trapper. A barefooted one, actually.

The trapper soon got the gator from under the car and lassoed it, after which he put it in his truck. When asking the trapper whether he was going to release the beast into the wild, Chapparo got his answer shortly: "And he said, 'Yeah, I'll release it — into my cooler,' " Chaparro confirmed for Bay News 9. "He said he was taking it back to Dade City to eat it." Too bad, it would have made for some great footwear material.

The gator’s visit didn't turn up that unsuccessful for the dealership, since Anderson still decided to buy a car. I just wasn't the Sequoia.

Like many other animals, alligators are quite active in spring, since this is their mating season. We can only think that it came to Sun Toyota looking for a mate or food. Trying to buy a car or looking to apply for a salesman position is out of the question.