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Screaming Driver’s terrifying encounter with one of Australia’s deadliest snakes as he basked near her steering wheel
- Woman from Adelaide has an encounter with a red-bellied black snake in her car
- Shelley Bridge jumped into her car and found the snake 4 inches away from her hands
- The snake was baking on the dashboard and had been in the car for weeks
An Adelaide woman has almost had hiss in her car when she discovered a deadly red-bellied black snake lurking behind the wheel.
Shelley Bridge didn’t notice the deadly creature until the last second when it suddenly reared its head at her as she put her hands on the steering wheel, just inches away.
The reptile was basking on the dashboard of her Maxda CX7 in Blewitt Springs when Ms. Bridge got into her car on Tuesday.
Ms Bridge said she remembered seeing the snake near her weeks earlier but never thought of it slithering in.
Adelaide woman Shelley Bridge has encountered a red-bellied black snake basking on her dashboard, and didn’t notice until she put her hands on the steering wheel
“It was four inches from my hands… I said a few expletives,” Ms. Bridge recalled Adelaide Now. “I quickly jumped out of the car and started screaming.
“I park my car next to my house on our rural property and we even saw a snake fall out of the car two weeks ago. I thought it was outside the car.
“Since then I’ve had passengers and dogs in the car and it’s never resurfaced in that time.”
By the time local snake catcher Pete arrived, the reptile had hid again in the depths of the vehicle and could not be found.
Mrs. Bridge saw the snake again on Thursday and called back Pete, who successfully located the snake after a 90-minute search.
He also found snakeskin in the spare tire compartment in the trunk, proving the snake had been housed in the Mazda’s home for weeks.
Ms Bridge said on reflection that she had seen the snake weeks earlier but did not realize it had slipped into her vehicle. She said it was the first time she had encountered a snake so close to her property in over 10 years
“I didn’t drive it for a few days and on Thursday at about 10 a.m. I saw it again sunbathing on the dash, so I quickly called Pete,” she said.
“He just jumped in the car, grabbed it by the tail with no gloves and came out ‘Sydney’ the snake.”
Although Mrs. Bridge is relieved to have her snake stowaway removed, she admits she was paranoid now – and carefully checks the car before getting in.
Ms Bridge said it was the first time she had encountered a snake so close to her property in more than 10 years.