30 years ago another boy was attacked by an alligator at Disney. Here is his story.
By Brady Dennis June 16 at 2:59 PM

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But it turns out that in 1986, an 8-year-old boy visiting from New Hampshire suffered serious injuries when he was attacked by a gator at Disney World’s Fort Wilderness, a themed camping resort not far from the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa where Tuesday’s attack occurred. He had been playing nearby when he wandered away to watch ducks at a nearby pond. The gator exploded from the water and grabbed his left leg.

The boy, Paul Santamaria, was fortunate to survive the attack. He is now a grown man living in New Hampshire.

In the video above, he recounted to Boston station WFXT this week how the scars from it remain — some physical, some mental. Santamaria told the station that he was hospitalized for a week with lacerations on his leg. Doctors even removed an alligator tooth from inside his thigh.

Santamaria said that the attack haunted him for years and that for a long time, he didn’t like to sleep alone or go near water. He said the wrenching death this week of 2-year-old Lane Graves brought back memories of his own harrowing experience.

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/06/16/30-years-ago-another-boy-was-attacked-by-an-alligator-at-disney-here-is-his-story/