Friday July 17, 2009, 1:31 pm
WESTON - A man bitten by an eastern diamondback rattlesnake in the Everglades is recovering today.

John Payne, 47, of Hollywood, was conscious and talking as he was taken to Cleveland Clinic in Weston after the Thursday night incident. A hospital spokeswoman said Payne had been admitted to the hospital and is being evaluated.

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said the incident happened in Collier County while the man was returning to Hollywood from Immokalee with his wife.

As the couple was driving from Highway 29 to Interstate 75 at about 7:30 p.m., they saw a snake in the road that looked like it had been run over, Jachles said.

They stopped and the husband got out to move the snake when it bit him on the right hand.

"He was trying to rescue a wounded snake from the road," Jachles said. "It probably wasn't a good idea."

The couple drove east on I-75 and called 911, Jachles said.

They stopped at a gas station at mile marker 49 and were met by Broward Sheriff Fire

WESTON - A man bitten by an eastern diamondback rattlesnake in the Everglades is recovering today.

John Payne, 47, of Hollywood, was conscious and talking as he was taken to Cleveland Clinic in Weston after the Thursday night incident. A hospital spokeswoman said Payne had been admitted to the hospital and is being evaluated.

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said the incident happened in Collier County while the man was returning to Hollywood from Immokalee with his wife.

As the couple was driving from Highway 29 to Interstate 75 at about 7:30 p.m., they saw a snake in the road that looked like it had been run over, Jachles said.

They stopped and the husband got out to move the snake when it bit him on the right hand.

"He was trying to rescue a wounded snake from the road," Jachles said. "It probably wasn't a good idea."

The couple drove east on I-75 and called 911, Jachles said.

They stopped at a gas station at mile marker 49 and were met by Broward Sheriff Fire

Friday July 17, 2009, 2:35 pm
Hope he's gonna be okay... Thanks Raffi!

Saturday July 18, 2009, 12:32 am
Thanks Raffi. I love snakes but you have just got to be careful no matter what sort they may be, and never pick a wild one up with your hands even it them seem injured - like this rattler, they can be right ungrateful and even a non-venemous snake can give you a real painful bite. The rattler was probably just getting some morning sun and didn't like being disturbed. Hope the Good Samaritan will be ok, now! I wonder, do schools in snake areas ever have people come in to teach kids what to do?

Saturday July 18, 2009, 5:22 am
The schools occasionally address our "neighbor" snakes but truly we learn more from the civic groups like scouts than the school on dealing with outdoor animal encounters. I've had numerous rattlesnake encounters, usually from the pygmy, in my own backyard. My neighbor, who knows better, did the same thing one day. Got out of his car to scoot the snake (the pygmy is so aggressive it was attacking his tires as he slowly rolled by) but he needed to get out of the road so he finally left it alone and of course, it moved on :).