ALEXANDRIA - A Livingston Parish family has a big alligator tale. The gator stopped traffic as it sat in the middle of I-49 Wednesday.

It was that big toothy grin or maybe that long tail that Amanda Carter says was something to see.

Watch video of the encounter on News 2 at 6:00

"It was pretty remarkable. My kids are still telling jokes, like, why did the alligator cross the road?" she said.

Carter says they were driving back from Texas after a visit to Six Flags when they saw the large reptile in the middle of the highway and nearly hit him.

"My husband thought he saw a tire in the road and when he got closer he noticed it was a really large alligator," Carter said. "He had to swerve to miss the alligator."

When Carter, who works with an animal rescue, watched the alligator get clipped by a passing car she knew they had to stop to help save him. Her husband turned the car around and pulled over.

"When he saw it and saw my face when it got hit by the car he was like, 'oh gosh, here we go again.'  And he was instantly like, 'Amanda we're not bringing this home,'" Carter said.

She was fine with that. After all, the gator was about 12-feet long. Carter says her husband first tried to coax the alligator off the road with a long paint stick, and more people pulled over to help.

The police were called to help direct traffic. They then tried to shield the gator's eyes with a sheet, thinking they'd have a better shot at pulling him to safety that way... but no luck.

Carter says while they waited for professional help to arrive, they entertained the alligator with turkey sandwiches.

"They came and they were able to get a lasso around his neck, and they were able to get him off the interstate and he went about his merry way," Carter said.

They spent about two hours on the side of the road making sure that the alligator got to safety. Carter says no one got hurt, and it's a story they'll be telling for years.