Current:Home > StocksConnecticut man bitten by rare rattlesnake he tried to help ends up in coma -Nova Finance Academy
Connecticut man bitten by rare rattlesnake he tried to help ends up in coma
View
Date:2025-04-17 03:02:34
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — When Joseph Ricciardella saw the snake in the road, he stopped his car and tried to help it avoid getting run over.
The attempted good deed landed him in a Connecticut hospital in a medically induced coma after the timber rattlesnake, which is rare in the Northeast, bit his hand when he threw a shirt over it and tried to pick it up, said Brittany Hilmeyer, his former girlfriend and the mother of his daughter.
Hilmeyer said Ricciardella called her on Sunday to say he had just been bitten and was driving to the hospital. His voice sounded odd, like Donald Duck, she said. She said it happened as Ricciardella was driving from a park in upstate New York to his home in Torrington, Connecticut, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Hartford.
It isn’t clear exactly where the encounter happened because he hasn’t been able to speak in detail yet to family and friends, she said.
Ricciardella, 45, a father of four who runs a landscaping business and has no medical insurance, went into cardiac arrest, was resuscitated and was later placed into a medically induced coma after being flown from a hospital in Torrington one in Hartford, Hilmeyer said. Doctors brought him out of the coma on Tuesday, but he remained intubated and sedated because of swelling from the venom, she said.
“It was surprising that, like, anybody would try to pick up a rattlesnake,” Hilmeyer said by phone Thursday. “But it doesn’t surprise me in the same sense because he kind of always did that. If he saw an animal on the side of the road or in the road, he would try to stop and get them out of the road. Or, if he was in his Facebook groups and he’d see they have animals that need help, he would take those animals.”
“It’s crazy. It’s something you would never think is going to happen,” she said.
The timber rattlesnake is one of two venomous snakes found in Connecticut — the other being the northern copperhead — and is extremely rare, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The snake is listed as endangered and is illegal to kill or collect. Rattlesnake bites are also extremely rare in the state, the agency said.
Ricciardella’s brother, Robert Ricciardella, said they grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut, and spent weekends in upstate New York, where they used to play in the woods and catch snakes, lizards and other critters — but never a rattlesnake. He said he was surprised that his brother tried to help one and was bitten.
“He does quite know better,” he said.
Joseph Ricciardella’s family has set up a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $5,000 so far to pay his medical bills.
veryGood! (93)
Related
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- OpenAI says ousted CEO Sam Altman to return to company behind ChatGPT
- Utah gymnastics parts ways with Tom Farden after allegations of abusive coaching
- Biden declares emergency over lead in water in US Virgin Islands
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- From 'Blue Beetle' to 'Good Burger 2,' here are 15 movies you need to stream right now
- Why is Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November? It wasn't always this way.
- New Philanthropy Roundtable CEO Christie Herrera ready to fight for donor privacy
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- 'The whole place shimmered.' 'Dancing With the Stars' celebrates the music of Taylor Swift
Ranking
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- OpenAI reinstates Sam Altman as its chief executive
- Judge denies corrupt Baltimore ex-detective’s request for compassionate release
- Fantasy football rankings for Week 12: Be thankful for Chargers stars
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Jeff Bezos fund donates $117 million to support homeless charities. Here are the recipients.
- Do you know this famous Sagittarius? Check out these 30 celebrity fire signs.
- Robbery suspect’s colorful underwear helped police arrest him, authorities say
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
Ex-Trump Organization executive Jeffrey McConney chokes up on stand at fraud trial, says he's very proud of work
Suspected militants kill 5, including 2 soldiers, in pair of bombings in northwest Pakistan
What is the longest-running sitcom? This show keeps the laughs coming... and coming
DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
Haitian police say member of a gang accused of kidnapping Americans has been extradited to the US
OpenAI says ousted CEO Sam Altman to return to company behind ChatGPT
Finland erects barriers at border with Russia to control influx of migrants. The Kremlin objects