East Texas Deputies Had to Wrangle a 9.5-Foot Alligator Blocking the Road

Drivers in East Texas ran into a traffic problem last week that was a little bigger, meaner, and toothier than the usual road hazard.

A 9.5-foot alligator was blocking traffic on FM 1013 West in Jasper County, not far from the Neches River.

According to KTRE, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said three deputies responded Wednesday after the large reptile caused a traffic issue about a mile from the river. That is one of those calls where “traffic obstruction” does not fully explain what is waiting in the road.

Most people expect a stalled vehicle, a fallen limb, maybe a cow or horse loose near the shoulder.

Not a nearly 10-foot alligator.

Deputies Bradley Morgan, Vern Kaylor, and Clayton Daigle worked together to take the gator into custody. That phrase sounds almost funny until you remember what a 9.5-foot alligator can do if it decides it is not interested in cooperating.

WFAA reported that after the deputies caught the animal, it was turned over to Texas game wardens and safely relocated. So the story ended about as well as it could have: no dramatic roadside injury, no gator wandering into more traffic, and no driver trying to handle it themselves.

That last part matters.

A big alligator sitting in the road might look like a strange photo opportunity, but it is not something anyone should walk up to. Alligators can move faster than people expect over short distances, and a large one can be dangerous even when it looks still. The safest move is to keep distance, stay in the vehicle if needed, and let law enforcement or wildlife officials handle it.

In East Texas, especially near rivers, lakes, marshes, and low-lying areas, alligator encounters are not unheard of. Still, seeing one big enough to block a road is enough to make just about anybody tap the brakes.

The location makes sense, too. FM 1013 West runs near the Neches River, and alligators are part of the landscape in that part of Texas. They may cross roads while moving between water sources, looking for territory, or responding to changing conditions around their habitat.

But for the average driver, none of that makes it any less surprising when the “object in roadway” turns out to be alive.

KHOU reported that the deputies wrangled the large gator before Texas Game Wardens relocated it. It took teamwork, patience, and probably a little more nerve than most folks would want to admit.

There is something very East Texas about the whole scene. A rural road. A river nearby. Deputies responding to a traffic call. And instead of a fender bender or a disabled truck, they find a gator big enough to make everyone rethink how badly they need to get wherever they were going.

Thankfully, the animal was safely moved, and traffic was able to continue.

Still, it is hard not to imagine the first driver who came across it and had to call someone.

Because “there is an alligator blocking the road” is not a sentence most people expect to say on a normal Wednesday.