Dragged into ocean by crocodile.......

Bay Area teen dragged into ocean by crocodile while vacationing in Mexico

Andrew Chamings

A Bay Area teenager is recovering in hospital after a dream vacation to Mexico turned into a nightmare when she was dragged into the ocean by a crocodile. 

The 12-foot reptile attacked 18-year-old Kiana Hummel of Novato when she was swimming around midnight at the Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa.

"I felt heaviness on my leg, I looked down, and I feel myself getting pulled," Hummel told ABC7 News. "I was just hitting him wherever I could."

The crocodile's teeth sunk into Hummel's shin, before letting go and then grabbing her other ankle. A nearby group of tourists heard her screams and came to her aid, eventually pulling her free from the massive reptile. The Novato High graduate, who was on a vacation before starting college in the fall, is currently at Marin General Hospital awaiting a second surgery on her leg. Doctors expect her to make a full recovery. 

Hummel and a bystander who witnessed the attack told ABC7 that no one at the Marriot resort had warned them about the dangers at the beach, where another tourist was reportedly attacked by a crocodile in 2018.

An unsubstantiated report of Hummel's injuries came from a one-star Trip Advisor review of the hotel posted last week by a guest named Natalie A.

"I would've highly recommended this hotel.. however and this is a HUGE however, the only deterring factor for my not recommending to others is the fact that my group of friends RESCUED a young girl from a 12 ft+ CROCODILE," the posting said. 

"I know you have 'signs' but you need MORE. There needs to be a rope or a gate to close off the beach at night, it is not safe at all," the review added. "These girls weren't warned because the sign at the main entrance that has the 'warning' is 20 feet of to the side. Had my group not been sitting on the patio near the beach that poor girl would've DIED ... do something about it before you kill one of your guests."

Marriot refuted the allegations that they did not have proper warnings, releasing the following statement in response to the incident: "The safety and security of our guests and associates are our top priority and we can confirm that appropriate signage as well as night patrolling and red flags are properly in place."

Crocodile attacks on Mexico's Pacific coast are not uncommon. Last month two British twins, Melissa and Georgia Laurie, 28, were attacked by a crocodile 800 miles down the coast in Puerto Escondido. The attack was eventually stopped by one of the sisters "punching the crocodile repeatedly in the face." The incident left Melissa Laurie in a medically induced coma; she has since recovered.