Report: Holtsville Men Battle Crocodile

Two Holtsville men recently battled a crocodile while on vacation in Cancun, according to a report on the New York Post.

According to the report, Edward Lunger, 50, was playing golf at the Iberostar Cancun Golf Club in Mexico with a friend when he hooked the ball to the left of the fairway, causing it to land in the sand.

Lunger’s friend Mark Martin, 52 of Holtsville, told the Post that after chipping the ball out, a female crocodile leaped up and bit down on Lunger’s left arm up to his elbow.

Lunger said the crocodile pulled him back and flipped him to the ground. Lunger says that he was able to pull himself out, although he does not remember how he did it.

Martin said that he grabbed a 40-pound boulder and smashed it onto the crocodile’s head just as Lunger freed himself.

Lunger had lost his middle finger and most of his ring finger from the battle, but doctors were able to re-attach his initially lost index finger.

According to the report, Lunger is filing a $2.25 million suit against the company that owns the resort where the incident took place.

Click here to read the original report on New York Post, which includes more details of the crocodile battle and a photo of Lunger's injured hand.