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Dad of two is killed by a snake inside his Queensland home as traumatized neighbors reveal his wife’s heart-wrenching cries for help before paramedics arrived.
- A father has died after being bitten by a brown snake
- Neighbors have seen snakes on their properties
- Experts Warn of Increased Snake Activity
A father of two died after being bitten by a snake inside his Queensland home as neighbors recounted his wife’s bloodcurdling screams as she waited for help.
Paramedics were called to a property at Eileen Court in Kensington Grove, in the Lockyer Valley, south-east Queensland, at around 9:50am on Saturday to report that a man had been bitten by a snake.
The man, in his 60s, died at the scene. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Neighbors said the man was an experienced snake handler and had kept several pythons as pets.
Next-door neighbor Michelle Vedredi, who was at work when the tragedy occurred, said she had received several calls and messages from concerned family and friends.
A father of two has died after being bitten by a snake at his home in Lockyer Valley, Queensland.
“They were asking me if I was okay because the helicopter had been there and there were four ambulances and police cars,” Ms Vedredi told the mail on Saturday.
She said another neighbor had told her they heard the man’s wife “screaming through the fence for help before the ambulances arrived.”
Ms Vedredi said she had seen an eastern brown snake, the second most venomous snake in Australia, slithering through her own backyard just days before the tragedy.
She had been ‘surprised by how fast he moved’.
The snake sped through Ms. Vedredi’s backyard before going under the fence to the late man’s home.
Another neighbor said he had seen four eastern brown snakes on his property in the past few weeks.
“This is a very tragic event and unfortunately a man has died,” they said.
Queensland Police confirmed that a report would be prepared for the coroner.
Neighbors have reported multiple sightings of the highly venomous eastern brown snake in the area.
The tragedy occurred at a property in the Lockyer Valley in southeast Queensland on Saturday.
The neighbor urged people in the area to “be prepared” for snakes on their property.
‘You don’t have to live rural to have [snakes] around. They also frequent the suburbs,” they said.
There has been an increase in snake sightings in Australia as the country grapples with its third consecutive La Niña weather system.
Lockyer Valley snake catcher Chris Jennings told Daily Mail Australia that land development in the area meant the snakes’ natural habitat was disrupted, causing them to seek refuge elsewhere.
He said the recent warm weather had also contributed to the snakes seeking refuge, including in people’s homes.
He stressed the importance of education about snakes and snakebites.
“Snakes don’t really want to attack people,” he said.
“The best thing people can do is learn about the snakes in their area and get first aid training.”
The last reported death in Queensland was in November after a woman in her 50s was bitten in North Burnett.