This is a list of people who received a fatal snake bite in the United States by decade in reverse chronological order.
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) kills the most people in the US, with the western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) coming second.[1]
The United States has about 20 species of venomous snakes which include 16 species of rattlesnakes, 2 species of coral snakes, one species of cottonmouth (or water moccasin), and one species of copperhead. At least one type of venomous snake is found in every state except Alaska.[2] It has been estimated that 7,000–8,000 people per year receive venomous bites in the United States, and about 5 of those people die.[3]
Most fatal bites are attributed to the eastern and western diamondback rattlesnake. Copperheads account for more cases of venomous snake bite than any other North American species; however, their venom is the least toxic so their bite is seldom fatal.[4]
Venomous snakes are distributed unevenly throughout the United States — the vast majority of snake bites occur in warm weather states. States like Florida and Texas have a wide variety and large population of venomous snakes. Bites from venomous snakes are extremely rare in the states near the Canadian border. Maine, for example, has only one species (Crotalus horridus) and it is rarely seen only in the southern part of the state.
De Leon was bitten on each leg while wading in the James River near Nixa, Missouri. After the bite, he did not seek medical attention and died the next day.[5]
While camping at Sam A. Baker State Park, Levins walked outside, saw the snake and brought it to his son's attention. When he picked it up, the snake bit him. Levins walked back into the cabin, washed his hand off at the kitchen sink and sat down on the couch. When Levins became sick, someone from a neighboring cabin came over to help and applied CPR. Levins was later pronounced dead at an area hospital.[6]
Coots was bitten on the right hand during a service at his Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church in Middlesboro, Kentucky. After the bite, Coots dropped the snakes, but then picked them back up and continued the ceremony. Later, he was driven to his home. When paramedics arrived, his relatives refused medical treatment for him, saying it was inconsistent with his religion. He died at home.
Terry Brown, 50, male
July 2012
copperhead
Brown died of a heart attack one day after he was bitten by a copperhead snake while camping on the Current River, Missouri. The coroner's office listed the cause of death as a heart attack, with the snake bite as a contributing factor. Witnesses told investigators that Brown had seen a snake in one of the tents and was trying to remove it when the snake bit him on the right thumb.[7]
Wolford was bitten on the thigh while handling a timber rattlesnake as part of an outdoor religious service at Panther State Forest in McDowell County, West Virginia.[8][9] Wolford did not initially seek medical treatment for his injury, but was taken to Bluefield Regional Medical Center when his condition began to deteriorate some eight hours later.[8] Wolford was a pastor and often handled his pet snake during church services.[8] Wolford's father, Mack Wolford, died in 1983 under similar circumstances.[10]
Westbrook was bitten just above the right elbow while handling a copperhead; he had been attempting to determine the snake's sex.[11] According to witnesses, Westbrook "tried to extract the venom with a tool after he was bitten, then he began coughing and vomiting before he collapsed."[12] Westbrook was pronounced dead on arrival at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[12] The cause of death was determined to be "anaphylactic shock as a result of the snake bite."[12]
Price was bitten above the right ankle while wading across a stream near Cuyamaca Reservoir in Cuyamaca, California.[13] Price had been taking part in a study of steelhead trout that was funded by a state Department of Fish and Game grant.[13] According to witnesses, Price "stopped breathing within minutes" of being bitten. The bite marks on his foot were reportedly "an inch and a half across."[13] Price was airlifted to Palomar Medical Center, but later died.
Hernandez-Hernandez became the first person to die in the United States from a fatal coral snake bite since 1967. He and Jesus Moreida, both of Bonita Springs, Florida, were bitten by a coral snake they tried to kill.[17]
Guidry, the Putnam County, Florida fire marshal, went to help a neighbor who had spotted a rattlesnake while mowing grass. He shot at the snake; it went under a shed and Guidry was bitten when he reached for it.[19]
Bitten on each hand while swimming in Saugahatchee Creek near Lochapoka, Alabama. Leprette was admitted to East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika; he developed complications and died after several days of treatment.[23]
Bitten on finger by a small snake in his own garage, admitted to Sierra Vista Regional Health Center in Sierra Vista, Arizona and treated with antivenom but died of "complications associated with the bite".[24]
Derek Lema, 2, male
September 16, 2000
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Bitten in the thigh by rattlesnake while helping his dad Victor Lema in their Lakewood, Florida backyard.[25]
Wolford was bitten on the arm by a timber rattlesnake during religious services at the Lord Jesus Temple in Mile Branch, near Iaeger, West Virginia.[10] Wolford did not initially seek medical treatment.[27] An ambulance was summoned eight hours after Wolford had been bitten, but he died during transport to Stevens Clinic in Welch, West Virginia.[10] Wolford's son, Mark Wolford, died in 2012 under similar circumstances.[8]
Reverend Holbrook was bitten while handling a rattlesnake during religious services in Oceana, West Virginia.[10][28] Holbrook reportedly refused medical assistance because his religion did not permit it.[10][28]
Ball was presumably bitten by a snake, possibly a Massasauga, while traveling alone through Bergen-Byron Swamp on a "picture-taking expedition".[29] A five-day police search recovered Ball's body from a small clearing "near Warboys Road, on the swamp's northern perimeter."[29] An autopsy report listed snakebite as the presumptive cause of death.[29][30]
Was bitten by a timber rattler at her home on Piney Creek, 12 miles east of Chillicothe, Ohio near the Tar Hollow State Forest. Mrs. Butterbaugh was picking beans in her garden when she was bitten. She died the next day. This is the last known fatality from a wild snake bite in the State of Ohio.[32]
Ross County, Ohio The bite occurred in Franklin Township at Snake Hollow, near the present day Scioto Trails State Forest, southeast of Chillicothe, Ohio. The article in the Chillicothe Gazette explains that it could not be confirmed if the bite Mrs. Lancaster suffered was from a copperhead or rattlesnake. Given the severity of the wounds, it was likely a timber rattlesnake that bit her.[33]
Died as result of a bite from a rattlesnake during a snake handling exhibition on Water Street in Chillicothe, Ohio. Newspaper article: Edward Comstock, manager of a snake show, was bitten by a rattlesnake at Chilll- cothe, O., last week and died, in terrible agony. His hand and arm swelled to an enormous size. Every known antidote was tried without avail. He was changing the snakes and put his hand into a box, when the rattler bit him. He had handled snakes for years.[35]
.jpg)
