Is there a verb describing someone on his elbows and buttocks, struggling to escape?

I'm trying to describe a scene where a man wakes up and is scared by something in front of him. He's in a lying/propped-up position, and he tries to move away from the object. All I could think of is "scram" or "thrash", but there aren't many examples where either of these words is used in the context "He was on his elbows trying to ____ away from the object". Is there a better verb to describe this motion? Thanks a lot for your help :D

Solution 1:

You could use scoot

He was on his elbows trying to scoot away from the object.

Merriam Webster defines it as:

2 : to slide especially while seated

Here are some examples of usage:

I scooted backwards, still on my butt and lower back
_{^{Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter}}

and

[Olig'] tripped and fell over, landing hard on his back in the middle of the road. [...] and Olig', fearing for his life, scooted backwards like jisduh, the crawdad.
_{^{Robert J. Conley's The Peace Chief: A Novel of the Real People}}

Solution 2:

What about "scuttling like a crab" from the comments above? 3/4 credit to Oldcat

Solution 3:

While it isn't specific to the position you discribe, "scrabble away from the object" is the word that came to mind. D