Man Bitten By Rattlesnake In Connecticut: Reports

TORRINGTON, CT — There have been two rattlesnake sightings in Connecticut in the past week, including one in which a man was bitten and had to be placed briefly in a medically induced coma.

Hearst Connecticut reported that a Torrington man, Joseph Ricciardella, was taken to a local hospital after being bitten by a rattlesnake last Sunday.

According to Hearst Connecticut, Ricciardella attempted a nice deed as he saw the rattlesnake in the road, and he attempted to move it to safety with the help of a shirt he placed over the snake's head, but he ended up getting bit on his hand and lost the ability to speak.

WFSB 3 TV reported that Ricciardella actually went into cardiac arrest and fortunately a hospital had anti-venom which saved his life. However, NBC CT reported that Ricciardella had been placed in a medically induced coma but was taken out of it and he remains "intubated and sedated."

Brittany Hilmeyer told WFSB 3 TV that Ricciardella was "getting to the point where he really couldn’t talk. You couldn't understand him. It was like trying to talk to someone with a mouth full of marbles."

Ricciardella is recovering in a local hospital. A GoFundMe page has been created to assist him in paying his medical bills.

"He suffered from not only the venom but a serious and life threatening allergic reaction that caused him to be in a medically induced coma," the GoFundMe states. "There have been improvements but the medical bills are piling up and he has no insurance as he’s self employed as a landscaper. Joseph has 4 children three of which are under 16." (The GoFundMe page can be viewed here).

And on Wednesday, WFSB 3 TV posted a video of a timber rattlesnake that was found in Cornwall, Connecticut. (You can watch the video here).

According to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the timber rattlesnake is one of two venomous species found in Connecticut, along with the northern copperhead. The timber rattlesnake is considered "extremely rare" in CT and is listed as an endangered species.

State officials said the rattlesnake is only found in about 10 towns in the central and western parts of the state.

Read more at WFSB 3 TV and Hearst Connecticut and NBC CT.