Beaver County Man Dies After Being Bitten By Rattlesnake

KITTANNING (KDKA) – A Beaver County man died after being bitten by a snake Saturday night.

According to the Armstrong County Coroner's Office, Russell Davis, 39, of Freedom, was bitten by a rattlesnake just before midnight.

Davis was on a weekend outing with his girlfriend at a family campsite in Medix Run, Elk County. She said she did not see what happened when Davis was bitten, but he came inside the camp asking to go to the hospital.

Davis was reportedly transported to Penn Highlands Hospital in St. Mary's, where he received anti-venom treatment. The goal was to fly him to Pittsburgh.

While he was in the helicopter, he went into cardiac arrest. At that point, Davis was taken to ACMH Hospital in Kittanning, where he was pronounced dead.

"People react differently to snake venom. I don't know where on his body the bite was, or what other health conditions he might have had," Ray Bamrick, of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, said.

The cause of death has been ruled anaphylactic reaction to a venomous snake bite.

While you might think rattlesnakes are rare in our area, they are not.

"Most commonly, the copperheads are the ones you'll find in western Pennsylvania and Allegheny County," Bamrick said. "It is estimated between 7,000 and 8,000 people across the country get bitten, with about five fatalities per year."

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter