Chesterfield County farmer rushed to hospital with rattlesnake bite

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, S.C. — A Chesterfield County farmer is recovering after getting bitten by a rattlesnake Thursday night.

According to paramedics, the man suffered severe and extreme symptoms. He was taken to a hospital in Monroe before being airlifted to Charlotte.

Pageland emergency responder Leslie Miller said crews responded in under five minutes off Dudley Road.

“Firefighters tell me this man was working out here on his farm outside Pageland when he reached down to pick something up and the snake bit him right there in the crook of his hand,” Miller said. “They say the pain was intense, in just minutes."

There were no photos of the rattlesnake, but emergency responders believe the culprit to be a timber or canebrake rattler that delivers a bite much more potent than a copperhead.

"The patient was already showing symptoms,” Miller said. “He had severe pain in his hand, respiration was increased and his heart rate was elevated."

Timber rattlesnakes are found all over the southern and eastern United States, but bites are rare because snakes generally avoid developed areas and will usually flee before biting.

"I go to falls a lot. I go to car wrecks a lot, but very seldom do you go to a snake bite call, so it's a little nerve-wracking," Miller said.

Copperheads are often found in urban backyards and are responsible for most venomous snake bites.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resource Officer Dwayne Rogers said everyone should be alerted by venomous snake bites this time of year.

"It can be somebody out in their yard cutting their grass and run up on a copperhead or it can be like in this instance, a farmer that is very experienced, and knows what to look for and been doing it for many, many years,” Rogers said.

The victim was given antivenom injections at a Monroe hospital and at a hospital in Charlotte.

"We don't have an update on this man's condition, but I'm told he knows snakes well, was able to kill the snake and make a positive identification,” Miller said.

The paramedics called Monroe’s hospital to make sure it had a supply of antivenin. Doctors then decided he needed to be treated at a larger hospital in Charlotte.

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