Woman drives into canal, eludes gators

A Pembroke Pines, Fla., waitress lost control of her car, ended up in a canal, eluded two alligators and still made it to work on time.

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When Ana Maria Amaya got to the Don Burrito restaurant at 4 p.m. Monday, she didn't even mention her morning adventure, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

Amaya, 32, was driving from her home across I-75 to Naples, Fla., to pick up her husband when she lost control of her 1989 Mercury after it nudged a car in front of her.

Don Schild of Quakertown, Pa., whose car was bumped, said when Amaya's Mercury hit the median, she overcorrected and became airborne. Her car flew over a fence and skidded into a canal.

"It was like the 'Dukes of Hazzard.' It was amazing," he said.

When Amaya got out of the car she made it to the bank of the canal as the alligators looked on, but she couldn't climb out. Two fishermen in a boat came and pulled her out of the water and deposited her on land.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers then arrived and took her home.

Her husband rented a car to get back home.