A New York man dodged death when he was bit by a venomous snake while bike riding in New Jersey.
Dan Geiger was pedaling along the Palisades Cliffs recently when he saw a snake in the middle of the bike path.
“I notice a lot of squashed snakes because snakes go out to the pavement to sun themselves or to gather heat, and I guess they’re a target for automobiles,” Geiger told Fox 5.
To prevent the animal from getting run over, he stopped to get off his bike and move it with his water bottle. Then disaster struck.
“I nudged it, it didn’t, it was very lethargic seeming, and I just sort of nudged again, and I was just like too close, you know, my hand was just too close to its head, I guess, and it just, it struck me with precision and speed,” Geiger told the outlet.
Geiger was able to call 911 with the help of two passersby, but he was already feeling the effects of the copperhead’s bite. He was taken Hackensack University Medical Center, which has a team that specializes in treating bites from venomous snakes.
While copperhead venom isn’t usually deadly, it can cause serious symptoms like internal bleeding, swelling and tissue death.
Daria Falkowitz, director of the Division of Medical Toxicology at Hackensack University Medical Center, told the station antivenom isn’t a miracle cure.
“It just stops things from getting worse and so whatever tissue damage has already occurred prior to receiving it is there,” she said.
Photos of the aftermath show Geiger’s swollen, discolored right index finger. However, Falkowitz said because the antivenom was administered so quickly, Geiger likely avoided permanent damage.
Copperheads are one of the 22 types of snakes native to New Jersey.
