Aug. 22, 2000

An Ogden man is recovering from a close encounter with a rattlesnake. He's one of dozens of snake bite victims this year in Utah.

That close encounter lasted just a fraction of a second, but it was long enough for Justin Rich to learn something about rattlesnakes he wants to pass along. News Specialist Richard Piatt has his story.

The telltale sound of a rattlesnake is something Justin Rich never heard--at first.

That's because he stepped on the 3-foot rattler before it bit him.

Justin Rich/Snake Bite Victim: THE SECOND I JUMPED BACK IT LUNGED AT ME AND CAME BACK TO IT'S COILED UP POSITION AND STARTED RATTLING IT'S TAIL.

Even now, Justin is feeling the effects of the rattlesnake venom, and thinking about what happened.

Like so many people hiking in the mountains, he was looking up at the time. The snake was stretched across the trail, sunning itself. In a flash, it struck.

The wound on his leg was still bleeding as he started to feel the effects of the toxin.

Justin: REAL INTENSE BURNING IN MY LEG, AND THEN STARTED TO GET NAUSEATED. SEVERE ABDOMINAL CRAPS, MY BACK STARTED HURTING.

Rattlesnakes have been showing up on trails around Utah more than usual this year. Conservation officers are even catching snakes near homes, sometimes after they've bitten pets.

Ray Loken/Conservation Officer: THE BEST THING TO DO IS SIMPLY AVOID THEM, PERIOD. PEOPLE WHO GET BIT BY SNAKES USUALLY TRY TO PICK THEM UP OR GET TOO CLOSE WHEN THEY SHOULDN'T BE.

That makes Justin's leg bite relatively uncommon.

So is his calm in the face of danger: using a cell phone to call for help; cleaning his wound as he waited.

His EMT training helped prepare him for what his wife half expects from her husband.

Jennifer Rich/Wife: HE IS ACCIDENT PRONE, HE HAS BEEN HIS WHOLE LIFE.

Justin is back home. Doctors are hoping he can recover without using an anti-toxin.

His advice to other hikers: Watch where you're going, and consider carrying a cell phone in case you need to call for help.