Death of Man Bitten by Copperhead Raises Questions
Wade Westbrook
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Published: 1/31 3:37 pm
Updated: 1/31 3:47 pm
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - The weekend death of a 26-year-old man from a copperhead bite left a Tennessee wildlife official and a snake expert puzzled.
Police in the Chattanooga suburb of East Ridge said Wade Westbrook, 26, was bitten on his upper right arm Saturday night while handling a copperhead that a friend wanted him to examine.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency spokesman Dan Hicks said it's extremely unusual for a copperhead bite to be fatal.
Witnesses told investigators that Westbrook was blue in the face 10 minutes after he was bitten.
Police said emergency personnel arrived about five minutes after being called and they attempted CPR.
Westbrook was then taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Hicks said it was "especially unusual for someone to die as quickly as he did. And it is very rare for someone in a metropolitan area to succumb to a bite. Usually they are able to get help in time."
Hicks said Westbrook had several exotic snakes and native turtles in his home.
"According to his wife, it seems he was a wildlife enthusiast who had taken it to the next level," Hicks said. East Ridge police spokesman Erik Hopkins said Monday that the official cause of Westbrook's death had not been released.
Hopkins told the newspaper that a friend of Westbrook had taken the snake to him to determine its sex.
Doctors at the hospital confirmed the snake was a copperhead. A co-author of "Snakes of the Southeast," Whit Gibbons, also told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that a death from a single copperhead bite would be very rare.
Gibbons, a University of Georgia professor, said "if he was 26 and healthy, it is highly unlikely that one bite could kill him."
Hicks said it's illegal in Tennessee to take any native species out of its habitat.
He said the copperhead probably would be donated to a wildlife refuge.
Animal control officials took the other reptiles from the home.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Police in the Chattanooga suburb of East Ridge said Wade Westbrook, 26, was bitten on his upper right arm Saturday night while handling a copperhead that a friend wanted him to examine.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency spokesman Dan Hicks said it's extremely unusual for a copperhead bite to be fatal.
Witnesses told investigators that Westbrook was blue in the face 10 minutes after he was bitten.
Police said emergency personnel arrived about five minutes after being called and they attempted CPR.
Westbrook was then taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Hicks said it was "especially unusual for someone to die as quickly as he did. And it is very rare for someone in a metropolitan area to succumb to a bite. Usually they are able to get help in time."
Hicks said Westbrook had several exotic snakes and native turtles in his home.
"According to his wife, it seems he was a wildlife enthusiast who had taken it to the next level," Hicks said. East Ridge police spokesman Erik Hopkins said Monday that the official cause of Westbrook's death had not been released.
Hopkins told the newspaper that a friend of Westbrook had taken the snake to him to determine its sex.
Doctors at the hospital confirmed the snake was a copperhead. A co-author of "Snakes of the Southeast," Whit Gibbons, also told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that a death from a single copperhead bite would be very rare.
Gibbons, a University of Georgia professor, said "if he was 26 and healthy, it is highly unlikely that one bite could kill him."
Hicks said it's illegal in Tennessee to take any native species out of its habitat.
He said the copperhead probably would be donated to a wildlife refuge.
Animal control officials took the other reptiles from the home.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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