Winter Garden alligator attack victim died from leg injury, drowning, medical examiner says

The Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office released the cause of death for a 71-year-old man killed in an alligator attack in Winter Garden.According to the report, Steven Hamilton died from blunt force injury to his left leg and drowning following Friday’s attack at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park. The manner of death was ruled an accident.Hamilton was at the park — where he fished daily — when neighbors witnessed an alligator grab him by the leg and pull him underwater. The report notes Hamilton had been holding a fish he caught while attempting to take a photo of himself when the alligator struck. The alligator, which measured just under 12 feet long, was later removed from the water by trappers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.Hamilton’s death marks the second deadly alligator encounter reported in Central Florida in 2026. In June, a woman died after being bitten by an alligator while swimming in the Econlockhatchee River near Seminole County.