Joseph Ricciardella's good intentions resulted in a trip to a Connecticut hospital and a medically induced coma after the timber rattlesnake, a rare species in the Northeast, bit his hand when he tried to cover it with a shirt and pick it up, according to Brittany Hilmeyer, his former girlfriend and the mother of his daughter.
Hilmeyer said that Ricciardella called her on Sunday to inform her of the bite and that he was driving to the hospital. His voice sounded unusual, almost like Donald Duck, she noted. The incident occurred as Ricciardella was traveling from a park in upstate New York to his home in Torrington, Connecticut, about 25 miles west of Hartford.
The location of the encounter remains unclear because Ricciardella has not yet been able to provide detailed information to his family and friends, Hilmeyer said.
Ricciardella, 45, a father of four who runs a landscaping business and lacks medical insurance, experienced cardiac arrest, was resuscitated, and subsequently placed into a medically induced coma after being flown from a hospital in Torrington to one in Hartford, Hilmeyer explained. Doctors brought him out of the coma on Tuesday, but he remained intubated and sedated due to the swelling from the venom.
The timber rattlesnake is one of two venomous snakes found in Connecticut—the other being the northern copperhead—and is extremely rare, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The snake is listed as endangered and is illegal to kill or collect. Rattlesnake bites are also extremely rare in the state, the agency reported.
Ricciardella’s brother, Robert Ricciardella, mentioned that they grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut, and often spent weekends in upstate New York, where they would play in the woods and catch snakes, lizards, and other creatures—but never a rattlesnake. He expressed surprise that his brother tried to help one and ended up getting bitten.
“He does know better,” he said.
Joseph Ricciardella’s family has set up a GoFundMe page that has raised over $5,000 so far to cover his medical bills.
