Stowaway Rattlesnake Bites Virginia Man

McLEAN, Va. -- A high school coach emptying his luggage after a team trip to South Carolina was bitten by a small rattlesnake that had somehow gotten into his bag, authorities said. Andy Bacas was released Tuesday after an overnight hospital stay. Bacas, a rowing coach at Yorktown High School in Arlington, told authorities he felt a sharp pain on his hand Monday when he reached into his luggage after returning from the road trip. He then saw the nearly foot-long snake and slammed the suitcase shut. Fire and rescue workers took the suitcase outside, opened it and blasted the snake, a juvenile canebrake rattler, with a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher. The chemical froze the animal to death. "The guy who responded had seen (the fire extinguisher technique) done on TV," Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Ben Barksdale said. Read more...

Posted by Editor at March 27, 2008 11:46 AM