Man running from deputies attacked by alligator

A Florida man fleeing a traffic stop was attacked by an alligator Thursday, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies attempted to pull Bryan Zuniga, 20, over for not driving in a single lane around 2:47 a.m. near the 7100 block of 78th Avenue North. Zuniga stopped the vehicle, jumped out of the passenger side and broke through a fence, deputies said.

He reached a water treatment plant between Westchester Boulevard and 71st Street North, which is where he said the alligator attacked him.

Deputies found Zuniga at a nearby hospital where he was being treated for multiple puncture wounds to his face, arm and armpit area.

He was arrested around 12 p.m., taken to the Pinellas County Jail and charged with breaking or injuring fences, fleeing and eluding a police officer, driving while licenses suspended and resisting an officer without violence, reports show.