Now they are grabbin ya off the street

[Valigator]

Turnpike traffic stops for road-crossing alligator

BY PAMELA PEREZ
Palm Beach Post

An alligator stopped rush-hour traffic on Florida's Turnpike in Palm Beach County this morning to cross the road.

The Florida Highway Patrol closed off the northbound PGA Boulevard exit 109 ramp at about 8:30 a.m. for several minutes during the alligator crossing.

FHP Trooper D.A. Sims got out of his patrol car and flagged down approaching vehicles, signaling them to stop, until the alligator crossed the exit ramp lane. The animal eventually walked off into a canal area that stretches along the highway shoulder. It was not injured in the crossing.

The spectacle compelled some drivers to lean out of their cars and take snapshots of the crossing with their cellphones.

Earlier this morning, a driver on the turnpike called 911 and reported the alligator sighting, Sims said.