A motorcycle accident in New Orleans has apparently been caused by the rider carrying a rattlesnake.
The unnamed rider was thrown from the motorcycle when he lost control on a bend while distracted by the snake on the pillion. He was taken to hospital with serious personal injuries.
The snake, a five-foot venomous canebrake rattlesnake, had been tied on to the bike with string. It is unclear whether it was still alive at the time of the motorcycle accident, but police believe the rider was attempting to secure it while in transit.
Although a witness saw movement from the snake before the emergency services arrived, it is thought that this could be reflex motions that a dead snake would also have made. It also appeared to have been de-fanged and to have had its rattle removed.
A local police officer who attended the motorcycle accident commented, "It was one of the strangest accidents I've responded to in my 37 years on the New Orleans Police Department."
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