DID THE HOMEOWNER INSTALL A SNAKE SECURITY SYSTEM?

Amazon driver is in serious condition after a rattlesnake bit her while she made a delivery to a Florida home

Monet Robinson, 21, was bitten by an Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake when she was dropping off a package to a Palm City, Florida, home 

 

By Dolores Chang  

 

Daily Mail

Sep 20, 2023

 

Monet Robinson, 21, was dropping off a package Monday evening at a Palm City home where the snake (pictured) was coiled up near the front door

 

A Florida Amazon driver is clinging to life after being bitten by an Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake as she was delivering a package. 

Monet Robinson, 21, was at the doorstep of a Palm City home where the unseen snake was coiled up near the front door. 

The snake jumped out and bit her in the back of her leg, just above the knee, the Martin County Sheriff's Office stated

The driver immediately became ill and called 911 for help. 

'It looks like black and yellow and it's making a lot of noise, a big rattle,' Robinson was heard saying in the phone call. Investigators said the 21-year-old had never seen a snake before she was attacked. 

When the police rushed to the scene, moments after the bite, Robinson was already on the ground. 

 

Robinson was seen on the ground with a neighbor in front of a Palm City home after the bite

 

Dispatchers were able to pinpoint the victim's exact location through cell phone GPS coordinates and sent help.

'Where it the bite?' a deputy was heard asking in bodycam footage as he arrived on the scene. Crews then worked to treat Robinson and get her to hospital. 

She is still in a 'very serious condition', the sheriff's office said. They added that the snake was caught and euthanized. 

Amy Kight, executive director at Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter, told WPBF that Robinson may have saved her own life by staying calm and calling 911. 

'I was really quite shocked by it,' she said. Rattlesnakes are common in South Florida, but rattlesnakes' bites are not,' she said. 

She explained the snake reacted to what it saw as a threat. 

'When the hand came out, and the package came down, the snake just thought it was protecting itself,' Kight said. 'And the poor Amazon driver just stood no chance.'

 

Robinson immediately called 911 and was taken for treatment after the bite

The sheriff's office said the snake was caught and euthanized

Dispatchers were able to pinpoint the victim's exact location through cell phone GPS coordinates and sent help

 

Branden Baribeau, an Amazon spokesman, said the company is looking into the incident. 

He added Robinson is a part of the delivery service partner program, technically an independent business that hires drivers to deliver on behalf of Amazon. 

'Our thoughts are with the driver and we hope for a full recovery after this frightening incident,' Baribeau said. 'Together, with the Delivery Service Partner, we're looking into the circumstances surrounding this incident and continue to make sure that drivers understand they should not complete a delivery if they feel unsafe.' 

Nearly one in five drivers making deliveries for Amazon suffered injuries in 2021, according to a study.

Eastern Diamondbacks are the largest rattlesnake species and considered one of the most dangerous snakes in North America.  

 The species can grow to about 7 feet but are mostly about 4 feet long. Although it's not very aggressive, its massive size and long fangs ensure it produces significant venom, fatal in 10 to 20 percent of cases if not treated.

'It all depends on how much venom is dumped in,' said sheriff's office Capt. Rusy Shaw. 'If it's the full dose, it's going to be a pretty quick reaction.' 

Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes are found throughout Florida in every county.  They also like nearshore islands including many of the Florida Keys. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Snakes like warm concrete. When I lived in Huntsville, Texas, I got up one morning to get the newspaper and found a copperhead warming itself on my house's front step.