A 72-year-old Richland fitness trainer fought off a crocodile while swimming off a Cozumel resort this week, surviving after bystanders and a lifeguard threw on tourniquets and emergency crews rushed him to surgery. The attack left the trainer with a severely injured right arm, but doctors say he has a good chance of regaining most function.
In an interview with Tri-City Herald, Eric Greager said he had been swimming between the buoyed swim areas when something slammed into him from behind. When he turned, he saw a crocodile’s head just a few feet away. The reptile clamped down on his right arm and, Greager said, “started thrashing around like a dog with a rag toy.”
Greager told reporters he punched and kicked the animal until it let go, then grabbed a swim buoy and tried to haul himself toward shore as other guests ran in to help. An on-scene lifeguard applied a tourniquet while others carried him from the beach, and an ambulance made a roughly 30-minute trip to a Mexican hospital where surgeons spent about six hours repairing a severed artery and torn tendons, according to KIRO 7.
Doctors told Greager the two main nerves in his right arm were exposed but not severed and that no bones were broken, and he spent three days in the hospital for IV antibiotics and pain control. Greager, a longtime race director and spin-class instructor from Richland, later quipped, “I made it 72 years without getting attacked by a crocodile. I think that’s my one and done,” as reported by Tri-City Herald.
What Saved Him
Greager and local doctors credit the fast work of the lifeguard and fellow beachgoers with preventing fatal blood loss and saving his arm. Multiple tourniquets were applied before surgery, a response that likely kept the injury from becoming deadly. Medical teams in Mexico and specialists back in the Tri-Cities told reporters they are optimistic about his long-term recovery, according to KIRO 7.
Crocodiles in Cozumel and the Caribbean
Island populations of the American crocodile are documented across the Mexican Caribbean, including Cozumel, and while the species is generally wary of people, attacks have been recorded in Mexico. Researchers point to habitat overlap, coastal development and tourism as factors that can increase human-crocodile encounters. Experts have examined those patterns in Mexico and the region, according to Oryx / Cambridge University Press.
Other Recent Incidents
Local reporting has documented other crocodile encounters on Cozumel in recent years, including a 2025 incident at a hotel that left a tourist injured and episodes where authorities captured and relocated large animals. Those episodes help explain why some resorts and municipal agencies periodically warn visitors to avoid mangrove fringes and to report sightings to local authorities, according to Riviera Maya News.
Safety Tips for Swimmers
Swimmers can reduce risk by staying inside marked swim areas, following lifeguard instructions, avoiding mangrove edges and skipping solitary swims at dawn or dusk when crocodiles are more active. Tour operators and resort staff can advise on local conditions, and visitors should treat coastlines near lagoons and mangroves with extra caution. General species information is available from conservation organizations, including the MarineBio Conservation Society.
Back home in Richland, friends and clients have rallied around Greager as he recovers in a brace. He has canceled a planned June trip to Fiji but hopes to dive in Indonesia this fall, according to The Seattle Times. The episode is a reminder that rare wildlife encounters can turn life-threatening quickly and that fast help and good surgical care can make the difference between losing a limb and getting another chance at normal life.
