Venomous Snake Returns As Bite Victim Talks To Reporter

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga.,None — As a metro Atlanta man was telling Channel 2’s Diana Davis about his dangerous encounter with a venomous snake, a copperhead appeared and the snake bite victim got revenge.

Alan DeSandre had been recently released from the intensive care unit at an area hospital.

DeSandre's said the yard of his Rockdale County home is the ideal habitat for copperhead snakes. It’s woodsy, complete with woodpiles and has lots of kudzu.

He was cleaning out brush earlier this week when he stuck his hand into the kudzu.

“All of a sudden, I felt this thing. It was like a wasp and I pulled my hand back and the snake went this direction and I went the other way,” DeSandre said.

He was rushed to Rockdale Medical Center. Doctors treated him with five vials of antivenom. His hand and entire arm swelled to nearly double its normal size.

“I was in the ICU for two nights,” he said.

DeSandre showed Davis the yard where the snake bit him.

“It’s one of those things you’re aware of, but when it happens to you and you see that darn snake …I knew it was a copperhead,” he said.

As Davis and Channel 2 chief photographer Tony Light were about to wrap up the interview, a copperhead appeared.

“Yes, it’s the snake,” said a frightened Davis.

DeSandre, on the other hand, went to grab his 9 millimeter and clips, each with 15 rounds.

One of the shots hit the snake.

“Got him that time, … got him,” DeSandre said. “Revenge.”

The DeSandres said they've spotted at least half a dozen copperheads over the years in their yard. One was nearly 5 feet long, they said.

“I had killed one that was 42 inches with a pellet gun,” said Jean DeSandre, Alan’s wife.

The snake was finally killed with a shovel.

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WSBTV